Fly Me to the Moon
by MrDrP
Summary: Kim's plans for a romantic flight in the Sloth after the graduation beach party turn out to be so the drama, in more ways than one ... COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Dear readers,

Welcome to a new set of Kim Possible adventures, set after the end of _Graduation_. As currently envisioned, I see these stories, which begin immediately after Kim and Ron flew away in the Sloth, taking them into their college years and beyond. Along the way, we'll find out whether Kim will go to school on the other side of the world, Ron will be stuck at home jockeying for Smarty Mart employee of the month, Drakken and Shego go beyond their awk-weird embrace at the UN, Barkin has a third car for the Tweebs to vaporize, and much, much more. So sit back, grab a naco and a Slurpster, and enjoy!

* * *

Special thanks to campy for beta and proofreading this chapter.

Leave a review and I'll send a reply.

KP © Disney

* * *

I.

"Wow," Kim said softly, as she and Ron broke their kiss.

"Ah-booyah," Ron said, still cupping Kim's cheeks in his hands.

"Ah-booyah, indeed," Kim agreed, her breath all but taken away by the confidence in her boyfriend's kiss. "That was … wow."

"Just doing my best to please my lay-dee," he said, clearly pleased with himself.

"You most definitely succeeded," she said.

"Once again the Ronman shoots and scores."

"Don't push it," Kim deadpanned.

"Gotcha," he said sheepishly.

"Good," she said as she leaned in and brushed her lips against his. "And don't you dare ever let me go if you know what's good for you."

"Wouldn't think of it," he said. "Ron Stoppable knows not to mess with someone who knows sixteen kinds of kung fu."

"Smart boy," she said approvingly.

"Hey, I am what I is," he offered with a shrug before asking, "So, where are we going?" Ron still had no idea as to where the Sloth was headed as it cruised through the beautiful spring evening. He'd been surprised when Kim had activated the car's booster rockets, launching the vehicle into the night sky as they left their graduation party.

"You'll see," Kim said playfully as she returned her hands to the car's steering wheel, out of habit more than need, given the Sloth was on autopilot.

"Hmmmm. The last time you said that we wound up smacking lips at the Junior Prom," he mused before he clasped his hands behind his head and reclined in his seat. "I can work with that." Then he yawned, his head lolled off to one side, and, mouth agape, he fell off to sleep.

Kim shook her head in bemusement, then looked at her snoozing BFBF with affection. While she'd have enjoyed some more kissing and moongazing, his impromptu nap would make it easier to keep their destination a surprise.

II.

Ron was jerked awake, immediately noticing that the Sloth was pitching and yawing wildly.

He looked to Kim and, before he could say something, the car bucked.

"Something tells me it's not supposed to be doing that," he observed.

"Understatement much?" Kim said as she activated the on-board Kimmunicator, hoping that Wade had gone home from the beach party.

"What up, Kim?" he said, much to her relief.

"We are, but I'm not sure for how long," she said as the car jinked, then dropped two hundred feet before leveling off. "Something's wrong with the Sloth."

"Let me run a diagnostic," he said, his hands flying over the keyboard. "Kim, the onboard piloting system has failed."

As Wade shared this news, the Sloth flipped over 180 degrees. "Tell me something I don't know," she said.

"I'm switching you over to manual control," he said. "Uh oh."

"Is that a good 'uh oh' or a bad 'uh oh'?" Ron asked.

"Ron, 'uh oh' is never good," Kim answered.

"Hey, a guy can hope," he said with a shrug.

Kim rolled her eyes, then turned her attention back to the screen. "Sitch me, Wade."

"Fuel levels are falling off, fast."

"Is there some place I can bring the Sloth down safely?" she asked.

"According to the GPS, you're at least a thousand miles from land."

"That's so not what I wanted to hear," she said.

"Kim, I just located a carrier battle group one hundred and fifty miles from your position," Wade said excitedly.

"And you know this how?" she asked before she added, "Don't tell me."

Wade grinned. "You want me to let them know you're coming for a visit?"

"Please and thank you."

III.

The flight center of the U.S.S. _Enterprise_ was abuzz with activity, bathed in red light, as was the norm during night time operations. The staff didn't question Captain Cochrane's order to prepare for the emergency landing of a modified Roth SL Coupe piloted by Kim Possible, especially not after the planet had just withstood an alien invasion and a Lorwardian walker, which had since been stripped of its weapons and electronics and pushed overboard, had set itself down on the ship's flight deck.

"Sir, we have the Sloth coming in from approach vector Zero Seven Two, wind at four point two knots from the southwest."

"Understood, Mr. Cutter," Lieutenant Commander Decatur, the flight officer on duty, acknowledged to the seaman. "Clear the deck for a potential crash landing. Have emergency and fire teams ready. Get the Sea Hawks up now in case we have to do a search and rescue."

"Aye, sir."

"Mr. Dewey, advise the captain that we expect Ms. Possible to land within the next five minutes."

"Aye, sir."

Before the junior officer could follow through on the order, Cochrane appeared.

"Situation?" he asked Decatur.

"As best as can be hoped for," the commander said. "Winds are steady and the sky's clear."

"Good," the captain said. "Now let's just hope she's as good as she's supposed to be."

IV.

"That would be the coolest thing I've ever seen if we weren't trying to land on it," Ron said as they approached the stern of the giant aircraft carrier, which was now flanked by two helicopters, both in position should the Sloth land in the sea.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Kim snapped as she struggled to maintain control of the Sloth. Piloting a remodeled coupe into a headwind was not something she had learned in Driver's Ed, after all.

"Hey, it's not you I'm not confident in," Ron said defensively. "It's them."

Kim looked at her boyfriend from the corner of her eye and could see he meant what he'd just said. "Thanks," she said. "And sorry for harshing on you. This is so the drama."

"'Sha," he said, waving his hand. "Bon diggity girlfriends landing a car on an aircraft carrier always get a pass on the snippy front," he explained. "Especially when they weren't actually being snippy," he hastily added, sensing he might have just put his flip flops in his mouth.

"Nice save," she said with a wry grin before her expression turned serious. "Okay, brace yourself," she said as she lined up the Sloth with the middle of the deck. "I'm taking us in ..."

V.

"Sir, the wind's picking up," one of the seamen announced.

"Understood," Decatur said. "Get me Ms. Possible," he ordered the radioman.

"Aye, sir," the man said. "_Enterprise_ to _Sloth_, come in _Sloth_."

"This is Kim," an impressively steady female voice announced.

"Ms. Possible, be prepared for increased wind from the southwest as you make your final approach."

"Man, what are the odds?" a male voice groused.

"Ron!" the woman hissed, sounding annoyed.

"What?" the male replied.

The radioman was sure he heard a sigh before the woman answered. "Thanks for the update. Kim out."

Decatur and Cochrane exchanged a glance. "I didn't know she was married," mused the captain, who'd had many similarly tenored exchanges with his own wife.

VI.

The night sky spread over the deck of the carrier, the stars obscured by the light of the full moon, a rippling wake trailing behind the warship's aft quarter.

The flight crew deployed, armed with light wands and paddles, ready to guide the car to a safe landing. Off to the side rescue crews gathered, equipment at the ready to tend to injuries or fire and a flexible barrier had been drawn across the deck to catch the Sloth should it not be able to decelerate after landing.

Men and women on the bridge and in flight control monitored the car's approach on radar, and kept the crew on deck informed of the situation. Still, even though they knew the Sloth was on its way long before it was seen, there was a surge of excitement and anticipation when one of the crew made visual contact.

"There!" a woman called as she pointed up into the night sky. "Between twelve and one o'clock!"

All eyes turned to the indicated patch of sky, focusing on two small dots of light and an orange afterglow.

"I think it's on fire!" one of the rescue crew cried out to his peers, unaware that the Sloth had booster rockets. "Let's be ready, people!"

VII.

Since ending her communication with the _Enterprise_, Kim had said nothing, focusing on the task at hand while Ron sat quietly, regretting his earlier flip comment. He wanted to apologize but saw from the set of his girlfriend's jaw that she was in a zone and, given that their lives depended on what she did over the next few minutes, it would be best for him to be quiet.

He watched as she checked the instruments, and continuously adjusted the wheel to keep the Sloth on course as the winds buffeted the small coupe.

"Put the top up," she ordered.

"You got it," he said as he pressed a button, which activated the roof.

The deck now loomed ominously large and was rapidly growing larger.

"Ron."

"Yeah, KP?"

"I love you," she said, her eyes fixed forward as they sped towards the deck.

"Back atcha, Kim," he said softly.

Then the car slammed onto the carrier, jarring the two teens, both of whom were grateful that the car had safety restraints. Kim flipped a toggle and deactivated the boosters, then hit the brakes, but momentum propelled the car forward, and because of a backing wind as she was landing, towards her right – and the flight tower and numerous aircraft.

Not wanting to collide with the multi-storied superstructure or one of the parked jets, Kim turned the wheel hard, and put the car into a controlled spin.

All would have been well had the Lorwardian walker not caused minor damage to the flight deck. The car ran over a small, unpturned jagged piece of plating, the front left tire blew out, and, much to the horror of all those watching, the Sloth flipped end-over-end before it slammed into the fuel tank of an F-18, which burst into flames, engulfing the purple coupe in a brilliant, awful fireball.

_To Be Continued …_


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to captainkodak1, FortressMaximus, Mr. Wizard, erayd, campy, whitem, JCS1966, Comet Moon, sharper1988, CajunBear73, Quathis, Eddy13, loveandwar007, screaming phoenix, bigherb81, daywalkr82, Classic Cowboy, Katsumara, RonHeartbreaker, Joe Stoppinghem, BenRG, Nutzkie, The Enduring Man-Child, TexasDad, Danny-171984, noncynic, Molloy, and Shrike176 for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Special thanks to campy for proofreading.

KP © Disney; original characters © the author.

* * *

I.

Kim regretted not wearing her wrist Kimmunicator to the beach party as she continued to fiddle, unsuccessfully, with the controls of the Sloth's on-board communications system. "So much for telling the _Enterprise_ we're okay," she grumped. "They must be freaking right now."

Ron, who was otherwise occupied, shifted in his seat. "Man, this is uncomfortable," he said as the safety harness bit into his shoulder as gravity pulled him downwards towards the car's roof.

"All things considered, I'm not complaining," Kim said, willing to overlook the fact that the car's systems wouldn't release their seatbelts. She looked appreciatively at the gray sheath that had spread throughout the interior of the car, providing a protective cocoon the moment the F-14 exploded. No longer visible were the airbags that had also deployed when they'd flipped; those had since retracted. Given that she and Ron were safe, Kim was more than willing to overlook the inconvenience of being suspended upside-down. "I can't wait to thank Jim and Tim for installing the fire safety and crash protection upgrades. They may be destructive, annoying tweebs, but they rock in stereo."

"I'm with you on that," Ron agreed. "Though I wouldn't mind being able to get out of here and pronto. I really need to take a trip to the little boys' room."

"TMI," Kim sing-songed.

"Hey, I was just sayin'," Ron replied as he looked at his girlfriend. "You know, your hair looks kind of cool that way."

Kim snorted. "Random much?"

"No, really. It's all long and beautilicious," he said as he reached out and stroked her auburn mane. "And silky smooth, too."

"You are so weird," she said with mock annoyance while her eyes reflected the great pleasure she took from his compliment.

"Hey, Ron Stoppable just calls 'em like he sees 'em," he replied smugly.

"Well, Ron Stoppable, flattery will get you everywhere," Kim said with a beguiling grin.

"Coolio. You think it will get us right side up and out of here?"

"Okay, almost everywhere," she conceded.

"And here I thought you could do anything."

"I can. Including admit there are some things I can't do – at least without some help," she said as she reached out and took her boyfriend's hand. "Thanks."

"Uh, for what?"

"For what?" she replied, "How about rescuing me from the Lorwardians, defeating Warhok and Warmonga?" Then she leaned over to Ron and, in as sultry a voice as she could muster, whispered, "And for not getting another coupon book."

As Ron's heart began to race, his palms began to sweat, and nature's call was forgotten, Kim brought her lips to his – just in time for the protective sheathing to retract as fast as it had deployed, revealing two teens on the verge of playing tonsil hockey to a number of relieved, surprised, and very amused U.S. Navy personnel.

II.

"Let me help you, Miss Possible," one of the sailors said, extending a helping hand, as Kim crawled out of the up-turned remains of her car.

"Ow!"

Kim turned to see Ron hit his head as he followed her out into the night air.

"You okay?" she asked as she reached out to him.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his head. "At least—"

The gathered officers and crew of the _Enterprise_ gawped as Ron's pants plummeted.

"Oh man, not even as a high school graduate!" he whined.

Kim, despite the sympathy she felt for her BFBF's trouser troubles, couldn't help but smile at the reassuring sign that in a world turned upside down, some things could be counted on to not change.

"Fearless Ferret?" she asked, pleased that he was wearing the boxers she'd given him.

"Whether it's girlfriends or boxers, Ron Stoppable is a man of discriminating tastes," he said as he pulled up his pants.

"As if anybody would ever wonder," she said with a fond smirk and a buss to the cheek.

"Miss Possible, Mister Droppable," a tall man with steel gray hair and piercing blue eyes said, his hand outstretched in greeting. "I'm Captain Cochrane. Welcome aboard the _Enterprise_."

Before Kim or Ron could say anything in response, a junior officer whispered into the CO's ear.

"You sure, Halsey?"

She nodded.

"I see," he replied. "Well then, my apologies, welcome aboard Miss Possible and Mister Stoppable."

"You know my name?" Ron asked the young woman.

"You've gone viral," she said.

"What? I feel fine."

Kim rolled her eyes. "I think she means something involving you has become popular on the internet," she explained before she asked Halsey, "Naked Mole Rap?"

"Pitfalls of short-term genetic mutation public service video," Halsey said with a grin.

"Coolio!" Ron said. "I'm a role model!"

Kim shook her head, wondering who had filmed her boyfriend's very strange PSA. Turning to Captain Cochrane, she continued, "Sorry about your plane, sir."

"Don't worry," Cochrane said. "We're just glad you two are okay."

"Too bad we can't say that for the car," observed Decatur, who'd accompanied the captain to the crash scene.

Kim and Ron turned and looked at the Sloth. While the vehicle's interior had survived the inferno unscathed, its exterior was a charred, battered disaster. Acrid smoke still seeped out from beneath the hood and from the blackened boosters.

Kim frowned. "I so don't want to go back to riding on his scooter," she muttered as she contemplated her remaining transportation options.

"You say something KP?"

"What? Uh, just that I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner," she fibbed. "You know, with us freak fighting and all."

"Yeah, I guess you got a point," he said. "Man, this tanks. First my wheels, now your car."

Kim fought to tamp down her guilty excitement at Ron's revelation. "What happened to your scooter?"

"It didn't quite survive a mano-a-mano with one of those walker thingies."

"I'm sorry," she said, gently resting a hand on his shoulder. While she was relieved to know she would no longer be cruising the streets of Middleton on her boyfriend's scooter, she knew how much he loved having his own ride.

"Ah, don't worry. It was a hunk of junk," he said, surprising her. "Though I'm going to miss the bubble horn," he added, which, not surprisingly, did not surprise her.

III.

Anne Possible was siting up in the bed in the Stoppable's guest room, her mobile phone to her ear, while James sat patiently by her side.

"So when do you think you'll be back?" Anne asked.

"The captain says we'll be in Hawaii in a couple of days," Kim reported. "Then Ron and I can catch a flight home."

"I'll let the Stoppables know," Anne replied. "We'll see you when you get back."

"Thanks, Mom. Love you."

"We love you, too, Kimmie. And give our love to Ron."

"Will do. Bye!"

Anne turned off her phone, which she then set down on the bedside table.

"They should be back in Middleton in a few days," Anne said.

James nodded. "Outstanding."

"Your daughter's alone in the middle of the Pacific with a boy and you're not going to express any concerns?" she observed, not hiding her surprise.

"Well, it's not as if they're alone: they _are _on a ship with a couple of thousand military personnel who I'm sure will keep Ronald in line." Anne cocked a disapproving eyebrow at her husband, who chuckled, then continued, "Besides, Ronald's not a boy. I think over the last few days he's shown us all he's a man."

Anne smiled. "And to think you were happy Kim forgot they were dating when she lost her memories."

"I may be a rocket scientist, but I can be wrong. He's a good fit for her, just as she is for him. And after the way he saved my Kimmie-cub …"

"Kim's very lucky," Anne said snuggling up to her husband.

"She is," James agreed as he wrapped his arm around his wife. "Almost as lucky as me …"

"Doctor Possible," she said. "Are you being forward?"

James waggled his eyebrows, then brought his lips to his wife's – just in time to be interrupted by a brilliant flash of light and the roar of an explosion.

IV.

"You have your own Bueno Nacho?" Ron said in amazement as he and Kim followed Halsey into the ship's mess, which offered a number of dining options, including several familiar fast-food choices. "Badical!"

Kim surveyed the scene and agreed. "This is impressive."

"The _Enterprise_ is a floating city that deploys for extended periods of time. The Navy wants to make sure that everyone on board is not only well-fed but happy."

"Man, free nacos every day," Ron mused.

"And lots of hard work, discipline, and ferociously long days," Kim said before her boyfriend got any ideas of enlisting.

"Okay, so there is no free lunch," Ron conceded.

"But there is the satisfaction of doing something important and worthwhile," Halsey noted as the trio placed their orders.

"True," Kim agreed.

"So," Halsey asked as they waited for their food to be prepared. "I read that you're graduating high school."

"_Humans_?" Kim asked, still amazed at the amount of coverage her graduation had garnered.

Halsey nodded. "Nice picture of you on the cover," she said to Kim before she turned to Ron. "Too bad they cut you out."

"That happens a lot," Ron sighed. "Nobody ever remembers the sidekick."

Kim cleared her throat dramatically.

"Except for my bon-diggity girlfriend!" he added hastily.

"And don't you forget it, Ron Stoppable," she said as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

Halsey grinned as she watched the two teens. "So, what's next for you two?" she asked, "I assume you're going to college together?"

The look of extreme discomfort on Kim's face and defeated resignation on Ron's answered the young officer's question more powerfully than any words.

V.

Tom Jervis, officer of the deck of the attack sub _Colorado_, which was at the van of the _Enterprise_ battle group, peered over the shoulder of the sonar operator.

"What is that?" he asked as he looked at the strange image on the screen.

"I don't know, sir," the sailor answered, confused but calm. "It's definitely not natural."

"And it's not on our charts," the navigator added a moment later.

"Maybe it was deployed by the aliens," the officer surmised.

"Passive readings?" the Sonar operator asked.

"Yes," Jervis said. "Mr. Fisher, you have the conn. I'm going to notify the captain …"

_To Be Continued …_


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to captainkodak1, CajunBear73, sharper1988, JCS1966, Comet Moon, Mr. Wizard, Quathis, campy, Katsumara, daywalkr82, bigherb81, screaming phoenix, Eddy13, spectre666, Classic Cowboy, Jillie Rose, Molloy, whitem, Shrike176, noncynic, Nutzkie, and Boris Yeltsin for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Leave a review and I'll send a response.

Special thanks to campy for proofreading this chapter.

KP © Disney.

All original characters © the author.

* * *

I.

"Ron's still waiting for his acceptance letters," Kim said in response to Halsey's question concerning the teens' college plans. "Once he gets them, we can make a decision about the fall."

"That assumes I get any," Ron said sourly, prompting a puzzled look from Halsey. "Seems the college admissions people are more focused on my Gentleman's C average than my badical sidekicking and rushing records," he explained.

"Even so, I'm sure you'll get in somewhere," Halsey said encouragingly.

"Maybe," Ron replied without much conviction, "but Kim shouldn't wait to make her decision. She can go anywhere. Me? I'm probably going nowhere."

Kim sighed. "Will you please stop worrying? Everything's going to work out. You'll see."

"That's easy for you to say, KP. You've been Chauncey with the colleges for weeks."

"Chauncey with the colleges?" asked Halsey.

"I started receiving acceptance letters weeks ago …" Kim answered, her words trailing off as she had a sudden, awful realization. "Nice work, Possible," she muttered.

"KP?" Ron asked.

Kim looked at him for a moment, then back to Halsey. "Do you think you could show us to our quarters? I think my BF and I need to talk."

II.

Anne and James hurried from the guestroom into the living room where they were met by Ron's parents and Nana Possible, all of whom had come rushing down the stairs. They were soon joined by a giggling Hana, who was gaily skipping on the ceiling.

"Where are Jim and Tim?" a curious Mr. Stoppable asked.

The Doctors Possible exchanged a knowing glance, then sighed in unison.

"Come on," Anne said to her husband. "We'd better find out what they're up to."

"I just hope Steve Barkin didn't have a third car," James said wearily as he followed his wife out the front door. "I don't have that much insurance."

III.

"It's the _Colorado_, sir," the communications officer said to Cochrane.

"Give me your headset," the captain replied.

The man did as commanded and rose from his seat, allowing the CO to take up his station. "Cunningham, this is Cochrane. What's going on?"

"We've picked up something big on sonar," Cunningham reported.

"How big?" Cochrane asked.

"Bigger than anything we or Ivan ever deployed."

"What about the Chinese? They've been spending money on weapons like a congressman seeking re-election."

Cunningham snorted. "Maybe, but I can't imagine they'd just leave something like this out in the middle of the Pacific, especially where we could find it."

"Good point. You think our out-of-town visitors left it behind?"

"Unfortunately, that's the best theory I could come up with."

"Great," Cochrane sighed, considering the implications should the unidentified object prove to be alien technology. "Okay, hold your position and keep me posted if anything changes. I'm going to put a call in to the pneumatic tube guys."

"Got it," the sub skipper said. "Cunningham out."

Cochrane removed the headset and looked over his shoulder at the communications officer. "Raise Global Justice. And make sure it's on a secure line."

IV.

Betty Director shook her head in amazement as she read the latest situation reports. Given the scope and scale of the Lorwardian invasion, the absence of a single battle casualty was nothing short of miraculous. It was as if she was living in some cartoon world where no-one ever really got hurt. Still, even if nobody was injured or killed, the reports made for sobering reading: there were dormant alien walkers equipped with highly advanced technology strewn all over the globe. And parts of Middleton, the epicenter of the invasion, were devastated.

Needing a break from recent events, the GJ chief set aside the after-action reports and turned to some personnel files. She had just started reviewing Will Du's folder when the blue light began flashing on her secure phone.

She picked up the receiver and answered without ceremony. "Director here."

"Hi, Bets," a familiar voice said.

"Tommy?" she replied, her voice softening.

"Yep," Cochrane replied warmly.

"I'm assuming this isn't a social call," she said, thinking of the line on which he'd rung in.

"I'd like to say it is, but we've got a problem …"

Betty Director listened attentively to Cochrane's report, making notes as she spoke. When he was done, she said, "I'll send my number one agent immediately."

"Thanks, but I have an idea I'd like to run by you. If you approve, we could start our investigation now, rather than waiting for your agent to arrive."

"Shoot," Director said. When Cochrane finished, she was smiling with satisfaction. This unforeseen development might help her address a long-standing concern sooner than expected. "That's a great idea, Tommy, though I have one request."

"Sure," he said. When she explained what she wanted, he agreed without hesitation.

"Keep me posted," Betty said.

"Will do," Cochrane replied. "Oh, and Betty?"

"Yes?"

"Don't be surprised if you get that social call sooner than you expect."

"I'll look forward to it," she said. "And Tommy?"

"Yes?"

"Good luck."

V.

Kim sat cross-legged on the bunk, facing her boyfriend. "Ron, I owe you an apology."

"Don't worry," he said with a wave of the hand before he frowned. "Though it did kind of tank when you pulled me away from my chimerito."

Kim smirked, though her bemused expression was soon replaced by something more serious. "Ron, I've been receiving college acceptance letters for weeks and I never said anything to you."

An uneasy silence rapidly descended over the quarters.

"Yeah," he said nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "I was kind of wondering about that."

"First my applications, now this …" she said, feeling awful.

"Does this mean we are breaking up?"

"What?"

"Well, this is the most ginormous thing going on in your life and the only reason I know about it is because I walked in on you as you were sorting through that grande-sized pile of letters and then in the sloppy hall—"

"Mess hall," Kim corrected him.

"You sure?" Ron asked, eliciting a nod from her. "Well, anyway, you said we needed to talk. The Ronster can do the math."

Kim resisted the temptation to roll her eyes; given the situation, her boyfriend's weird logic actually seemed reasonable. "Ron, I love being your girlfriend and I meant what I said the other day at Bueno Nacho – we're not breaking up. The thing is, I also loved getting into all those schools."

"Okay, you've lost me," he said.

Kim sighed. "I want to be with you but getting into schools in Hong Kong and London has been spankin'. And as long as I didn't say anything, I didn't have to deal with the university sitch. I just could enjoy being your GF and daydream about college."

Ron gulped. "Did any of those daydreams involve me?"

Kim nodded. "Yes," she said with a smile, recalling reveries about sitting with Ron beneath a large, leafy tree on a generic college quad. "But," she added with a frown, "I also didn't see how with your grades you'd be able to go to the schools I really wanted to attend."

"Sorry about my gradage, KP," he offered apologetically.

"Apology accepted," she said. "Though if you mean it, you'll spend more time in the future with Shakespeare and less with Space Squid."

"Man, I love Space Squid," groaned Ron without thinking. Seeing the expression on his girlfriend's face, he added enthusiastically, "But what I'm really all about is the Shakespeare!"

"Good answer," she said with a smile and a cocked eyebrow.

"So, uh, maybe I missed something," Ron said as he rubbed his chin, "but I'm still not clear on why you didn't tell me about your college offers."

"I guess I didn't want to deal with the possibility that we might not be in the same place in the fall. As long as I put off talking with you about my letters, I didn't have to," Kim explained.

Ron shook his head. "Okay, I never thought I'd say this, but you've been spending too much time with me."

"Excuse me?"

"Kim Possible procrastinating?" he observed. "Next thing you know, you'll be marinating!"

Kim snorted, then smiled. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Just being you," she said, taking his hand. Then, frowning, she observed, "This is all so ferociously confusing."

Ron considered Kim for a moment. Then, steeling himself, he looked her in the eye. "It doesn't have to be, KP. I meant what I said at the football stadium. You're heading to the stars and I'm stuck here on earth. I'm cool with whatever happens. I, I don't want to hold you back."

"That's sweet, but ferociously flawed," she said, caressing his cheek. "And it so doesn't help and not just because you couldn't hold me back."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember I told you I had a confession to make?" she asked, eliciting a nod from him. "I never told you why I was scared."

Ron reached over and took her hand. "I'm all ears," he said, earning a smirk from Kim.

"Good," she said reaching up so she could gently run a finger along his right earlobe. "Because I like your ears."

"Coolio," Ron said. He gently cupped Kim's cheeks in his large hands and drew her in for a kiss – only to be interrupted by someone knocking on the door to her quarters.

"Man, can't we ever catch a break?" he whined.

"Tell me about it," she groused. "Come in," she called out as she rose from the bunk, expecting to see Halsey. She was surprised, as was Ron, when Captain Cochrane entered.

"Miss Possible, Mister Stoppable, I know you've had a full day and it's late, but your country needs you to go on a mission …"

_

* * *

To Be Continued …_


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to Mr. Wizard, Comet Moon, Eddy13, CajunBear73, sharper1988, The Enduring Man-Child, bigherb81, Joe Stoppinghem, TexasDad, Quathis, Classic Cowboy, screaming phoenix, JCS1966, Katsumara, Shrike176, noncynic, Molloy, RonHeartbreaker, whitem, and Muzzlehatch for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Leave a review and I'll send a reply.

Special thanks to campy's cat for proofreading this chapter. A signed photo of Debutante is in the mail.

KP © Disney; original characters © the author

* * *

I.

"_Hicka bicka boo!"_

"_Hoosha!"_

The exultant cries floated across the dark suburban yard, informing James and Ann Possible that their boys were safe. Parental relief was immediately leavened with parental anger, however, as their suspicions that the twins were the cause of the explosion had been confirmed.

"Jim, Tim …" their father said sternly as he jogged up to them.

"Hey, Dad," a grinning Jim said.

"Look what we did!" Tim proudly added.

"Oh my!" Nana said.

"The machine," Ann said in wonder as she looked towards the ruins of her home and saw that the Lorwardian walker was no more. "It's gone. But how?"

"We used Ron's Z-Boy game control console to reverse polarize the matter/anti-matter flux capacitors …" Jim said.

"And annihilated the walker by creating a momentary singularity that collapsed in on itself," Tim concluded.

"Outstanding!" James said as he rested his hands on his sons' shoulders.

"Could someone explain that in English?" Mr. Stoppable asked. "I may be Actuary of the Year but I didn't understand a word of what the boys said."

"We made a black hole that made the aliens' machine disappear." Tim explained.

"I see," Mr. Stoppable said with an appreciative nod before he asked, "Do you think that would work with the junk in our garage?"

II.

"What's the sitch?" Kim asked Cochrane. The captain replied with a concise report on the _Colorado_'s discovery. "Sounds lairish to me," the teen hero said thoughtfully.

"It definitely has the bad guy mojo," Ron agreed.

"But which bad guy's mojo?" she wondered aloud.

"Drakken?" Ron suggested.

"He has done underwater lairs," she said. "But he really seemed into the whole flower thing in the Alps before the Lorwardians showed up."

"True," Ron said. "Maybe it was Monkey Fist?"

"Monkey Fist?" she replied skeptically. "Aside from the fact that he's now a statue, using an underwater base would help him become supreme monkey ruler how?"

"He'd use it to create an army of giant sea monkeys," Ron explained.

Kim cocked an eyebrow. "Giant sea monkeys," she said with acute skepticism.

"Okay, that did sound pretty lame," Ron conceded before he brightened. "Unless DNAmy's involved! She's all about splicing and dicing the genes!"

"Okay, as weird as that sounds, it could be possible …"

"Ah-booyah," Ron said smugly. "The Ronman shoots and scores."

"Maybe," Kim said. "We won't know until we actually investigate."

"Aw man," Ron said. "Pointage denied."

"Or maybe not," Kim said encouragingly. "We won't know until we see what's over there."

"Fair enough, KP," Ron said.

"So I take it you're willing to go?" Cochrane asked.

Kim looked to Ron, who nodded. "We're in," she said.

"Excellent," the captain said, shaking hands with Kim, then Ron. "And thank you for agreeing to help."

"No big," she said. "Helping people is what we do. When do we leave?"

"As soon as you confer with Lieutenant Stark and his team."

"Does he have additional information for us?" Kim asked.

"No," Cochrane said. "He'll be leading the mission."

"Excuse me?" Kim replied in disbelief.

"I know you're used to operating on your own, Miss Possible," the captain said as he held up his hands in a placatory manner, "but I'm also aware that you are missing two key members of your team."

"KP and I can handle ourselves just fine," Ron said defiantly.

"I suspect you can," Cochrane said, his tone understanding yet unyielding, "but this operation is being launched from my ship and the two of you are my responsibility. While I have tremendous respect for your abilities and track record, I can't take any chances with your safety."

Ron was about to protest again, but Kim laid a hand on his shoulder. "We'll do it."

"You sure?' Ron asked.

Kim nodded in reply, her expression telling him that while she was sure of her decision, she was most decidedly not happy.

III.

Halsey escorted Kim and Ron to their briefing. On their way to the meeting, the young officer gave the teens some intel she was pretty confident would not be forthcoming through official channels.

"Stark may have a chip on his shoulder about having to take you on this mission."

"How come?"

"Let's just say that 'confident' doesn't begin to describe him. I'm sure he thinks he can handle this on his own and in his sleep – he graduated top of his class at Annapolis, was promoted to Lieutenant in record time, and is a member of the Space, Land, Underwater Group, the Navy's most elite special operations unit."

"So this dude's a slug?" Ron asked.

"Ron!" Kim exclaimed.

"What?" he replied, puzzled by his girlfriend's reaction.

"Just because he may be a bit big-heady doesn't mean you should call him names," she chided.

Halsey snickered. "Actually, Ron has a point: the acronym for Space, Land, Underwater Group is …"

"SLUG," Kim groaned.

"Man, who comes up with this stuff?" Ron wondered.

"Your government at work," Halsey said with a grin.

Kim gently rested her hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Sorry for harshing on you."

"'Sha," Ron said with a shrug. "It's all water off the Ronman's head."

"I think you mean back," Kim suggested.

"You sure, KP?"

"So sure," she assured him.

"Well, here we are," Halsey announced when they arrived at the briefing room.

"Thanks for everything," Kim said.

"My pleasure," Halsey replied as she shook the teens' hands. "I'll see you when you get back – and the chimeritos will be on me."

"Coolio!" Ron said, anticipating a second run at the ship's Bueno Nacho.

"You ready?" Kim asked Ron after the young officer had left.

"Where you lead, your faithful sidekick goes, KP," he said, bowing, and with a grand flourish, pointing to the door.

"About that," Kim said, her tone suddenly serious.

"About what?" Ron asked.

Kim took a deep breath. "You're not my sidekick."

"I'm not?" Ron asked, surprised, then worried. "You're not firing me, are you?"

"No," she said with a smirk. "I'm promoting you."

"Promoting me? Why?"

"Because you're not a sidekick anymore, Ron. You're a partner. You showed that during the whole invasion sitch. You were awesome. And that wasn't the only time. You totally rocked at the cupcake factory during the Atmosfreezer incident, not to mention with Han and the Yono."

"I'm really your partner?" Ron asked, overwhelmed by the compliment.

"Mmm hmmm," Kim said.

Ron felt his eyes tearing up. "I'll make you proud, KP," he sniffed, trying, but failing, to hide the well of emotion he was feeling.

"You already do," she said before she kissed him on the cheek. "Now let's get the 411 on this sitch."

The two teens then walked into briefing room. Cochrane rose to his feet to greet them. "Ms. Possible, Mr. Stoppable, welcome," he said as he shook their hands. "Allow me to introduce Lieutenant Stark, who will be leading this operation, and Lieutenants Spruance, King, and Nimitz."

"Pleased to meet you," Kim said graciously to Stark and his team.

"Same here," added Ron.

"I've heard about your exploits," Stark said in a manner that could have been interpreted as either complimentary or condescending.

"Thanks," Kim said, very much on her guard.

"You have all been apprised of the situation," Cochrane said, wasting neither time nor words. "There's been no change in the object's status, though we have to presume that could change at any time. Act quickly and carefully. Find out what that thing is and get back here."

"Aye, sir," Stark replied.

"Well, I'd better leave you to your planning," the captain said as he headed for the door. "Good luck."

Once the captain had left, Stark moved to the head of the table and sat down. His officers joined him and then all four Navy men gazed at Kim and Ron, who exchanged a glance, before they took their own seats.

"Before I begin," Stark said, "I should inform you that I informed the captain of my reservations regarding your participation in this mission."

Kim folded her arms across her chest and cocked an eyebrow at Stark. "And you have reservations why?" she asked. "Ron and I have dealt with dozens of sitches like this before."

"So I've heard," Stark said. "However, I'm still worried about you compromising our safety."

"Okay, dude," Ron said, "I know what you're thinking and Ron Stoppable is sure that his girlfriend wasn't replaced with some destructo-cyborg who's been programmed to explode and create a black hole that would swallow and destroy the Earth."

"Actually, we hadn't considered that scenario," said Stark, who began to rub his chin as he entertained the possibility that the teen sitting before him was actually a highly advanced alien robot.

"And KP wasn't brainwashed by Warhok and Warmonga to lay low until she could find a good time to capture the world's leaders before enslaving humanity, either," Ron said.

"How can you be sure of that?" Stark demanded as he now looked at Kim as if he was all but convinced she might be either a Lorwardian dupe or tool.

"Hello! Reality calling," she snapped. "I'm not a robot and I haven't been brainwashed. Now what's the stinkin' sitch?"

Setting aside the disturbing possibilities raised by Ron, and focusing on his own reservations, Stark answered. "To be frank, I have concerns about including a publicity-seeking vigilante in this operation."

Kim seethed. "You are so flawed," she snapped. "I save the world to help people, not for the publicity. And I am so not a vigilante. If I were, I don't think your captain would have asked us to be part of this mission."

"What she said," Ron added. "Besides, if KP were in it for the attention, she could have been milking her hero work for years. Action figures, sheets, cereal, you name it. Maybe even her own show. That would be so cool. Anyway, she could be rolling in the Claude. But she doesn't. Never has, never will."

"And yet I see her on TV and on magazines more than Britina," Stark said caustically.

"So? Ron Stoppable's girlfriend makes good copy," Ron said. "Kim can't help it if the media dudes know a good story when they find one."

"Fine," Stark said grudgingly. "Since you say you're not publicity-seeking vigilante, I expect there will be no grandstanding or freelancing on your part during this mission. Do I make myself clear?"

"Totally," Kim said glacially.

"Good," Stark said, "Now we will divide into three teams of two: Spruance and Nimitz will lead, to be followed by Possible and King, and then Stoppable and me. We will then—"

"Ron and I are a team," Kim interjected. "We work together."

"The interests of this mission would be best served by the assignments I have made," Stark countered.

"How so?" Kim demanded. "Ron and I know how each other works in the field. I'm sure that's true of you and your team."

"It is," Stark said. "But professionals are able to adjust to new partners, and quickly, in order to satisfy operational requirements. Now, I know you're not a professional—"

"Dude, you so don't want to go there," said Ron, who bristled at the slight to his girlfriend.

"Excuse me?" Stark said.

"It's all right, Ron," Kim said as she placed a calming hand on her boyfriend's arm before she glared at Stark. "We've both worked with others and can do so again."

"Good. Now that that's resolved …"

"You still haven't explained why you want to split us up," Kim observed, interrupting Stark.

Looking annoyed, he answered. "These assignments will put your familiarity with lairs, should that be what we're confronting, at the disposal of two teams rather than one, which should be especially helpful since you're supposedly the expert in dealing with supervillains and their bases."

"Sounds reasonable, KP," Ron observed, drawing a withering glance from his girlfriend that told him he was most definitely not being helpful. "Hey, just sayin' …"

"Are there any further questions?" Stark asked.

"No," a visibly annoyed Kim said curtly while Ron merely shook his head, having decided it would be best to keep quiet given his GF's being incredibly tweaked and the SLUG's pomposity.

"Good," Stark said. "Now, here's how we'll deploy …"

_To Be Continued …_


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to campy, Mr. Wizard, sharper1988, JCS1966, Comet Moon, Boris Yeltsin, bigherb81, Eddy13, Quathis, Katsumara, screaming phoenix, noncynic, Shrike176, CajunBear73, daywalkr82, RonHeartbreaker, Joe Stoppinghem, Nutzkie, Molloy, Desslock3, and writerchic16 for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

As always, leave a review and I'll send a reply.

Special thanks to campy for proofreading this chapter.

KP © Disney; All original characters © the author.

* * *

I.

The Lorwardian walker now gone thanks to Jim and Tim, the Possibles couldn't resist the temptation to begin sifting through the wreckage of their home even though it was the middle of the night.

Ann was gingerly clambering over the debris towards what she believed were the remains of her living room when she spied a reflection on a piece of glass. She knelt down, brushed away some dirt and wallpaper, and uncovered a favorite shot of a young Kim and Ron that had hung in the front stairway. Though the glass was cracked, the photograph was undamaged and a smile came to Ann's face. As she was musing on how far Kim and Ron had traveled since that long ago day, she heard Jim call out. "Score!" he said to his brother with an enthusiasm that immediately aroused her maternal suspicions.

"No way!" Tim replied when he saw what his brother had found. "This is going to be even better than when Kim signed that contract!"

"And why is that?" Ann asked as she came up behind her sons, who were already disassembling a badly damaged piece of computer equipment.

"Uh oh," Jim said nervously as he looked up to see his mother looming above.

"Gotta go?" Tim suggested weakly.

"I don't think so," she said with motherly resolve.

"Is that Kim's computer?" James asked as he joined his wife.

"Apparently so," Ann replied. "I think Jim and Tim were hoping to hack into Kim's diary so they could blackmail her."

"It's not like that!" Jim said, desperately trying to salvage this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure the mother lode of intimate and embarrassing information about his big sister. "We were, uh, just trying to help."

"Like when you had your sister sign a piece of paper allowing you to call her a car monkey?" Ann asked, her tone making it clear the jig was up.

"Busted," Jim and Tim sighed in unison.

II.

"I so cannot believe him!" Kim fumed as she stormed into their quarters. "'This isn't one of your teen adventures. This is a potentially dangerous military operation.' I was already saving the world when he was sitting in some stupid classroom at the Naval Academy! Just who does he think he is?"

"World famous Slugboy AND Winner of this year's Will Du Peppy People Person Award?" Ron suggested, flashing Kim the goofiest grin he could and hoping that his quip would break the tension and help her relax.

Kim, her face impassive, looked at Ron for what to him was an uncomfortably long moment before the corner of her mouth quirked up. She then began giggling and was soon consumed by full-throated laughter, much to his manifest relief. "And you wonder why I keep you around," she finally said as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Always happy to help my bon-diggity girlfriend," Ron said, which prompted Kim to drape her hands around his neck and pull him close to her.

"Sorry for giving you the death stare when you agreed with Stark," Kim said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"'Sha," Ron said as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "It's been a long day. Sailor Dude just tweaked you."

"Maybe," Kim said. "But as flawed as he is, pairing us up with members of his team so they can draw on our experience does make sense."

"But?" Ron asked, sensing there was more.

"I just wish I had more confidence in him," she said. "It's like putting Bonnie in charge of the cheerleading squad."

"Knows the moves but goons on the power?" he asked.

"Exactly," she replied.

"You know, you'd think a guy who doesn't even have an arch-foe would listen to the world expert on infiltrating lairs instead of dissing you. I was so not down with that."

"Even though I'm a Lowardian cyborg programmed to conquer the Earth?" Kim asked impishly.

"Okay, maybe the Rondo's imagination can get kind of active," he admitted.

"Understatement much?" she replied before she brought her lips to his, pre-empting his response.

After the two teens engaged in some kissing that some would describe by invoking torrid clichés worthy of a very bad romance novel, Ron observed with satisfaction, "KP, if you're an alien robot of destruction, you can conquer my lips anytime."

"You give me the weirdest compliments," Kim said with a bemused, but appreciative, grin.

"Hey, I do what I can," Ron replied with a disarming shrug.

"Good," she said, giving him a buss on the cheek. "Because I wouldn't have it any other way." She then turned from him to her bunk where two neatly stacked piles of gear, including wet suits sporting their names, awaited them. "Time to get our heads in the game," she declared.

"Fear not," he said as he grabbed a wet suit, "I'm ready for anything!"

"Spankin'," Kim said with an affectionate smirk as she took the suit bearing her name from Ron and handed him his.

III.

The object held position about 200 feet beneath the surface, enabling the four SLUGs and two teen heroes to deploy without using a submersible. Instead, they each rode self-propelled sleds equipped with high-powered lamps that illuminated their way and small on-board computers that allowed them to communicate with one another and the _Enterprise_.

All six members of the team were impressed by the immense size of the object, which had a smooth gray hull and appeared to be saucer-shaped. While sonar readings had told them the thing was huge, it was only by actually approaching it that they could fathom its scale.

Once they were about fifty feet off the object's beam they split up into three pairs and began searching for any clues as to the thing's origin or to how they might gain entry. _No markings here_, Stark keyed into the pad on his computer just in time for Ron to tap him on the shoulder and point upwards. Stark looked in the direction indicated and scowled. _Belay that_, the SLUG typed. _Markings found. Rendezvous here_.

Kim and King, and then Spruance and Nimitz, joined Stark and Ron near a symbol that was about four feet high and two feet wide. The unfamiliar design appeared to have faded, presumably, Kim thought, from exposure to the salt water, thus supporting her belief they were dealing with a lair and not a UFO, though she knew it was possible aliens could have left the object behind. At the very least, she was confident she knew one thing: _Not Lorwardian_, she typed into her pad.

_We can't be sure of that_, Stark countered.

Ron typed furiously into his computer. _Dude! They put their logo on every golf course on Earth, not to mention Warhok's chest and their garbage bags and this isn't it!_

Stark glared at Ron, then typed, _Maybe they have more than one symbol._

_This screams lair_, Kim countered.

_I disagree_, Stark typed in reply. _ I think it's alien te—_

The SLUG was interrupted when Ron's sled began to jerk and swing around, the wildly dancing light of his headlamp providing a weird, eerie underwater show.

_Ron! Stop fooling around!_ Kim typed furiously.

_Sorry! Dealing with a rogue clown fish_, he typed in response after he regained control of his sled.

Kim, though, didn't reply. Instead, as her boyfriend careened about, his lamp illuminated something high on the side of the object that caught her attention and so she went to investigate. Moments later she typed _Most def lair. Look!_

When the team joined her they found her pointing at a barely visible hatch and some lettering that even Stark had to concede indicated a human provenance for the object since it was highly unlikely aliens would be using the Cyrillic alphabet.

IV.

"Hana! Be careful!" Mrs. Stoppable called out as her toddler happily gamboled over the ruins of the Possibles' home.

"She'll be all right," Ann said, trying to reassure her neighbor. "I thought Kimmie was sure-footed when she was little but little Han takes the cake."

"I'm sure that being a world-saving super-ninja baby helps," Mr. Stoppable said with paternal pride.

"She'll be fine," James said before he added with a grin, "It's when she starts dating boys that you'll have to begin worrying."

"Dear," Ann said in a warning tone.

"Just kidding," James said. "Though only if Hana is lucky enough to meet someone like Ronald."

"Ronnie would be so pleased to hear you say that," Mrs. Stoppable said before her daughter reclaimed her attention. "What's Hana doing?"

"It appears that she's lifting up a wall," James observed. "Toddlers sure didn't do that when I was a kid," he added with an appreciative chuckle.

"Oh, look! Ronald's naked mole rat appears to have found something," Nana said.

"Oh my gosh," Ann said when she realized what Rufus had discovered, "Kim will be so pleased."

Proudly standing atop the debris was Rufus, holding aloft a battered, soiled, gouged, but still intact, Pandaroo.

V.

_It appears to be Russian_, Stark informed Cochrane.

_Navy?_ The captain inquired.

_Unknown, _Stark answered._ No recognizable military or civilian Soviet or Russian Federation markings. Orders?_

_Investigate, but proceed with caution._

_Aye,_ Stark replied.

After Cochrane signed off, the SLUG posed a question to his team. _Suggestions on how to gain entry?_

_We could detonate a small explosive charge_, Spruance offered.

_Not a good idea, _Kim said_. That might trigger defensive measures._

_What do you think we should do_? Stark asked.

Kim paused, wishing she had her Kimmunicator so she could consult Wade; she was sure he would be able to get them inside in no time. Reluctantly, she began to type her reply. _I'm not…_

_Stoppable, are you nuts? _Nimitz demanded.

Kim turned her attention to her boyfriend, who was banging on a panel adjacent to the hatch.

_Ron, what are you doing?_ she asked.

_What does it look like?_ he replied. _I'm hitting it._

_And you're doing that why?_ Kim asked, suspecting she already knew the answer and hoping the Ron Factor would come into play.

_It works on Dad's old TV, _he answered, confirming her suspicions.

_Stop. Now. This isn't an old TV!_ Stark demanded. _It's a—_

The SLUG stopped typing his admonition when the hatch slid open, revealing a large airlock.

Smiling triumphantly, Ron asked, _Can I have a booyah?_

_Nice work, Ron_! Kim replied while Stark shook his head in disgust.

_King, Possible, Stoppable, secure sleds. _ Stark ordered. _Nimitz, Spruance, keep station here in case we're trapped or cut off and need you to get help._

Four minutes later, two SLUGs and two teens were in the airlock, examining the space for clues as to how they could close the outer and open the inner door, when Ron lost his footing. While King was non-plussed and Stark was highly annoyed, Kim wasn't the least surprised when her boyfriend bumped against the wall and accidentally activated the airlock. _And Ron's dumb skills rock yet again_, she mused as the large outer door slowly slid close. After the hatch had closed, the seawater slowly began to drain from the space.

As soon as he could, Stark pulled away his mask. Then, when the water was down to his knees he ordered, "Weapons ready."

Kim had not been happy with Stark's insistence that they all carry directed energy weapons. She'd been on enough missions where a gun would only have introduced a dangerous, unpredictable variable into a rapidly changing and challenging situation, and experience-driven instinct told her this time would be no different.

Added to that were her concerns about Ron being armed. While she trusted him with her life, she couldn't help but recall some of the mishaps he'd had with the laser lipstick and other gadgets. As if sensing his girlfriend's concern, Ron took that moment to whisper in her ear, "I know what you're thinking, KP."

"You do?" she replied with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yep. And don't worry. The Ronman's going to be super-duper careful with his ray gun. I won't blow anything up until you give me the A-Okay."

The expression on Kim's face told Ron she was surprised, but pleasantly so, by what he'd just said. With a smug yet endearingly goofy grin, he added, "Like I told Bonnie in the fall, some of us learn from our adventures!"

Kim squeezed his hand and smiled. "Yet another reason I call you Potential Boy."

"Are you two done?" asked an exasperated Stark.

"Dude, chill out," Ron said. "KP and I are frosty and ready to roll."

"Ron's right. We're ready," Kim said with a sudden seriousness that caught Stark's attention. "Let's do this."

After the last of the water had drained away, the inner door slid open with a whoosh that would have pleased Senor Senior, Senior and revealed a cavernous space bathed in soft red light whose walls were lined with an impressive array of equipment.

"Okay, people, it's go time," Stark said, his weapon drawn and armed. He then stepped out of the lock, looked both ways, and beckoned for the others to follow.

_TBC …_


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to Boris Yeltsin, Mr. Wizard, campy, whitem, sharper1988, daywalkr82, JCS1966, Comet Moon, Eddy13, Shockwave88, Quathis, Shrike176, noncynic, Katsumara, CajunBear73, screaming phoenix, bigherb81, JAKT, Joe Stoppinghem, and Molloy for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Leave a review and I'll send a response.

Thanks to campy for proofreading this chapter.

KP © Disney; original characters © the author.

* * *

I.

"Talk about retro," Kim observed as she examined the vacuum tubes inside the giant mainframe computer.

"Agreed," King said. "Still, given its size …"

Kim looked up at the immense machine that towered above her and the SLUG; they'd come across it not long after they'd parted ways with Ron and Stark.

"… The computing power would be off the chain," she said. "I so wish we knew who built this lair and why."

II.

"Looks like we found the command center," Stark said as he walked through the door and into a large, circular room. Consoles and chairs on casters ringed most of the walls while a raised dais topped with a white chair dominated the center.

"Man, this place must be as old as my dad," Ron said as he surveyed his surroundings.

"Why do you say that?" Stark said.

"Uh, hello?" Ron replied as he touched one of the chairs. "Mint green and white vinyl with chrome accents? This place is screaming early Sixties."

"And how would you know that?"

"_TV Trash Heap_," Ron said proudly. "There's stuff like this in classic shows like _My Six Girls_ and _Car Fifty-Three, Don't Hit Me_."

Stark stared incredulously at Ron.

"What?" the teen asked.

"Remind me why you're on this mission?"

"Hey, just because I don't have some fancy pants degree from some individuality-crushing military school doesn't mean that I don't add value to the team."

"That remains to be seen," Stark muttered.

"Was that a shot?" Ron asked.

"Right across the port bow," Stark answered with a roll of the eyes.

"Okay, just so long as we're clear on things," Ron said amiably. "So, now what?"

"We evaluate the systems to determine what kind of threat the object poses," Stark said as he sat down at one of the consoles and reached for one of the controls.

"Uh, I wouldn't do that," Ron cautioned.

"Do what?" Stark asked.

"Press any buttons," Ron answered. "Trust me. The Ronman has plenty of experience doing that. Nothing good ever comes of pressing buttons, especially the big, shiny red ones."

"Look Stoppable, I'm not some buffoon who doesn't watch what he's doing," Stark snapped as he swung around and glowered at his mission partner.

"Hey, you don't need to get snippy," Ron countered.

Stark shook his head in disgust, then turned back to the controls. As he did so, he sneezed. When his body jerked up and his chair began to roll, he grabbed the console to steady himself and inadvertently hit a button in the process. And while not big, not red, and not shiny, the button did activate the Binomial On-line Redundant Support Computer Help Terminal.

III.

"So, what's the deal with you and Stoppable?" King asked casually as he and Kim continued to investigate the mainframe.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I heard somewhere you have a boyfriend. Doesn't he mind you going on missions with another guy?"

"Newsflash," Kim said coldly. "Ron is my boyfriend."

King silently looked at Kim for a moment, then laughed. "You had me there for a moment."

"Excuse me?"

"For a moment, I actually believed you were dating Stoppable," King said. "As if."

"And just who do you think I'd be dating?" she asked coyly. "Someone like you?"

King, who was six foot two, had a full head of chestnut brown hair, piercing blue eyes, a gleaming smile, and a strong chin, shrugged, then offered an easy grin. "Well …" he said as he leaned in and brought his face close to Kim's.

He was taken aback when she jabbed him in the chest. "Here's the sitch," she snarled. "Ron is my boyfriend, my best friend, and my partner. If I'm lucky, he'll be something more some day. Got it?"

"Uh, yeah," King said sheepishly. "Sorry …"

Kim reddened, embarrassed by her outburst. "Sorry for harshing on you," she apologized. "It's just that—"

"You don't like people dissing your guy and I'm not the first to do that?" King offered.

"Pretty much," Kim said. "Ron's weird and can be a bit of a geek at times, but he's _my_ guy and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Fair enough. So, now that I'm done crashing, burning, and hopefully no longer making a complete fool of myself, what do you think all this gear is for?" King asked, gesturing to the immense data banks.

Kim took a reel off a spindle and frowned. "I wish Dad were here. He could give us the 411 on the vintage data tapes."

"Your dad a computer scientist?" King asked.

Kim didn't get to answer the question. She, like King, was focused on covering her ears from the moment the loudest klaxon either of them had ever heard went off.

IV.

BORSCHT was the most sophisticated computer program of its day, designed to not only bring key systems on-line, but to activate other programs throughout the lair in a carefully plotted sequence.

The first task in that sequence was to activate the internal defense systems.

V.

"Oh, man, what did you do?" Ron yelled as the klaxon blared and red lights flashed.

"I didn't do anything," Stark hollered in reply before he and Ron noticed the depressed button. "Other than brush my hand against that control panel …" he added in a soft voice that Ron couldn't hear.

"Great! Kim is so going to blame me for this!" Ron fretted before he grabbed Stark and headed for the door. "Come on!"

"What are you doing?"

"Finding KP and getting off this tub!"

"Negative. We are going to assess the situation and relay a report to the captain. Then we will determine the proper course of action."

"Dude, the proper course of action is to run. Now!" Ron insisted as he spun Stark around so the SLUG could see what had just caught Ron's attention: a platoon of heavily armed robots with weapons aimed directly at them emerging from three recessed panels.

"No! We stand and fight!" Stark bellowed as he withdrew his weapon, aimed, and fired. Much to his surprise, his ray gun failed to discharge. "On second thought, I believe a rapid strategic retreat is in order," he said before he turned and bolted.

"That's what I was saying!" Ron said as he followed the SLUG out of the control center, narrowly dodging a laser blast.

VI.

Kim hurled the metal data reel at the robot in the van, then grabbed King and retreated around the corner.

"Okay, you're the one with experience with attack robots. What's the plan?" the SLUG asked.

"We meet up with Ron and Stark," Kim replied. She withdrew the Navy-issued communications device from her belt, pushed the talk button – and was greeted by nothing. "This is so not happening," she groused.

"Nothing," King added as he, too, had no success with his unit. "At least we're armed."

"But not dangerous, I bet," Kim observed. "Whatever's affecting our communicators is also probably messing with our weapons."

King poked around the corner, aimed his weapon, pressed the trigger – and was not surprised when nothing happened. "Now what?"

"We still meet up with Ron and Stark."

"But we don't know where they are!"

"Then we find them," Kim said with grim determination.

"But what about the robots?"

"No big," Kim said.

"Look, I don't know about you, but I haven't had much experience in hand-to-hand combat with robots."

"I have, but it doesn't matter," she said.

"Oh? You've thought of a way to disable them?"

"Not yet. But I have found a way for us to get out of here," she said, pointing above to the ceiling.

"The air vent?"

"Mm hmm," she said. "Now give me a boost so I can remove that grille …"

VII.

"I told you we should have taken a left!" Ron yelled. "But nooooo! You had to have it your way!"

After going down what turned out to be a dead-end corridor, he and Stark had been surrounded by twenty eight-foot-tall robots that would have looked at home in a bad 1950s science fiction movie save for the very menacing laser blasters they wielded.

"Fine! I was wrong," Stark replied. "Now will you shut up while I try to determine the best way to extricate ourselves from this situation?"

"We'd be better off if you spent your time figuring out how we could get ourselves out of this mess!"

"Have you always been this dense or did you suffer a head injury on one of Possible's missions?"

"Okay, that's it," Ron snapped. "I am so not down with your 'tude." To make his point, he poked Stark in the chest.

"Don't touch me," Stark bellowed, swiping away Ron's hand.

"Hey! No hitting!" Ron said as he batted back Stark's hand.

"Oh yeah?" Stark responded as he slapped Ron's hand.

"Yeah!" Ron countered as he returned Stark's slap and added another for good nature. "In your face!"

Stark growled, then slapped Ron's hand not once, not twice, but three times. "If that's the best you can do and Possible has you as her sidekick, she really is overrated."

That's when things really got ugly.

VIII.

"Did you hear that?" King asked as he and Kim reached a juncture.

"Yes. And if those henchrobots are hurting Ron they are going to be so busted," she replied with cold determination. "Let's head left."

The duo made the turn and continued to crawl towards the noises that had drawn their attention. "Spankin'," Kim said as they reached a grille. She quietly brought her face down to the metal and looked around.

"What do you see?" King asked.

What Kim saw greatly annoyed her – her best friend-boyfriend and the mission commander were busy playing slap monkey when they should have been dealing with the robots that had encircled them. But as she watched the master of the mystical monkey power and the top-of-the-class Naval Academy graduate go at it, she shook her head and began to grin.

"Well?" King wondered.

"I think the Ron Factor may have come to play."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, here's the sitch …"

IX.

"Oh? You're dissing the Mad Dog when your mascot is a lamb?"

_Slap_!

"It's not a lamb you idiot! It's a goat!

_Slap!_

"Oooooo. Well, excuse me for mixing up my smelly barnyard animals. Lamb, goat, donkey, they're all the same!"

_Slap!_

"Now you're confusing the mascot of the United States Navy with that Army jackass? Stoppable, you're going down!"

_Slap! Slap!_

"Ooo! Ooo! Nobody double slaps Ron Stop—Aaiiiieeee!" he cried out as a pair of hands reached down and yanked him upwards. "I'm being abducted by a mutant zombie sailor!"

"You are so weird," Kim said as she pulled Ron into the duct and out the way so King could retrieve his fellow SLUG.

"KP?"

"No, just your basic average mutant sailor zombie," she said with a smirk. "Now let's get moving."

"Where to?"

"Away from your friends," Kim said as she slipped by him and began to lead the party away toward safety.

"Wait just a minute," Stark barked. "I'm in command …"

Just then a laser bolt tore through the duct.

"… And I think Possible's heading in a good direction. Move out!"

X.

After BORSCHT had successfully deployed the internal defense systems, it turned to its next task, which involved a six-foot-high transparent tube located in a chamber deep within the bowels of the submarine lair. The container housed a sole occupant who was wreathed in cryogenic gasses.

Satisfied that the lair was being secured, BORSCHT initiated a decryogenicitization protocol that slowly sucked the cryogenic gasses out of the chamber and replaced them with an oxygen-rich mixture that slowly allowed the occupant to regain consciousness. After a few moments, two blue eyes blinked open and a hand reached for and turned a handle.

The door to the tube swung open and the occupant climbed out and stretched, then walked to a bank of black-and-white cathode ray tube monitors, which she examined with interest. She then entered a series of commands into a keyboard, looked at the CRTs again, and, satisfied that all systems were active and functioning properly, left the chamber.

XI.

"Okay, that was way too close," Kim said as another laser pierced the vent.

"Tell me about it!" Ron said, the seat of his wetsuit still smoking from the blast that had brushed his bottom.

"Sooner or later they're going to hit one of us," King observed. "Maybe we should split up."

"He's right," Stark said. "That way more of us will survive. Stoppable, let's double back."

"What do you think, KP?"

Kim turned so she could answer her boyfriend, then grimaced as another laser punched through the vent. "I don't think splitting up is an option," she said a moment later.

"Dispersal will heighten the odds of one of our teams escaping and being able to report to the captain," Stark insisted.

"That may be true, but it is so beside the point," she said as she watched the laser cut a line through the metal. "We need to ace this place and fast."

Ron, Stark, and King all looked over their shoulders to see what prompted Kim's comment and saw the beam slicing through the vent. Kim turned and the four began to crawl away from the laser – just in time to see another one punch through the metal ahead of them, cutting off their escape.

"Maybe they're just doing some home improvements?" Ron offered weakly before the bottom fell out from beneath them, sending them tumbling to the corridor below where the found not only the robots, their blasters deployed, waiting for them, but a woman who, other than appearing older and having cold blue eyes, bore a striking resemblance to Kim.

_To Be Continued … _


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to Jillie Rose, Shockwave88, whitem, Katsumara, Boris Yeltsen, spectre666, JCS1966, campy, CajunBear73, sharper1988, Eddy13, Comet Moon, Quathis, Shrik176, Mr. Wizard, screaming phoenix, waveform, Captain IT, daywalkr82, Joe Stoppinghem, noncynic, bigherb81, Nutzkie, and Molloy for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Special thanks to campy for proofreading.

Leave a review and I'll send a reply.

* * *

KP © Disney; Original Characters © the author.

* * *

I.

After the recovery of Pandaroo, everyone agreed that it would be a good idea to end the evening's work on a high note. Kim and Ron's parents, along with Nana Possible, retired to the Stoppables' kitchen to enjoy some tea before turning in for the night. The conversation was relaxed and it wasn't long before the talk turned to Kim and Ron.

"Kimberly Ann was so excited about the surprise she'd planned for Ronald," said Nana, who along with Ann had been privy to Kim's post-graduation party plans. "I hope they're having some fun while they're on that ship. I remember being stranded aboard an oil tender in the Indian Ocean in '61 after a special ops mission. It was dreadfully boring with nothing to do."

"Well, it's not where she planned to be with him, but I'm sure they'll find some way to enjoy themselves," Ann said reassuringly.

"Two teens in love, alone on a ship in the middle of the ocean?" Mr. Stoppable said with a grin. "I don't need to be Actuary of the Year to tell you the odds are one hundred percent that they've found an enjoyable way to pass the time!"

II.

"You mind telling me who that was, Possible?" Stark asked as the door slammed shut behind their captor and her mechanical minions. The mystery surrounding the woman had only deepened as she had ordered Kim, Ron, Stark and King to their feet in Russian-accented English and then silently marched them to the brig, where she watched as her robots shackled the prisoners' wrists and ankles to the wall before departing.

"I wish I could," Kim said, "but I'm in need of the 411, too."

"And what were you talking about, Stoppable, when you asked Possible if you should 'go all monkey on the bad guys'?"

"Well, you see I'm the master of the mystical monkey power and …"

"Mystical monkey power?" Stark laughed derisively. "You've got to be kidding me. The only thing you're a master of is buffoonery."

"Says the guy who pushed the button that got us into this mess," the tow-headed teen retorted.

"Ron's telling the truth," Kim said sharply. "He's also a master of Tai Shing Pek Kwar and could take you with his eyes shut."

"Yeah, right," Stark said, causing the auburn-haired hero to bristle.

"Whoa!" Ron said when he realized what had just happened. "Are you bragging on your boyfriend?"

Kim blushed and then shrugged.

"… That is so cool!"

"What can I say?" she said with a playful smile. "I like it when my BF steps up."

"Man, I am all about the stepping up!" he said.

Kim and Ron were beginning to lose themselves in one another's eyes when King, who was grinning, cleared his throat and drew the attention of the abashed members of Team Possible. "I'm all for the loving, and I'd be really grateful if Ron could give me some tips on Monkey Kung Fu, which I've studied but have never really been able to get down, but is it okay for me to ask you guys a question?" The two teens, both furiously blushing, nodded. "How come you didn't have Ron use this monkey power?"

"You know, I was kind of wondering that myself, KP," Ron added.

"The captain sent us here to find out what the sitch was," Kim explained. "I thought we could learn more if we let our hostess think she has the upper hand."

"Overconfident villains are all about the blabbing," Ron said.

"Exactly," Kim said. "And since something tells me she's as curious about me as I am about her, I think she's going to spill pretty soon."

III.

The door to the brig opened and their captor entered, followed by a platoon of her robots. She wore her auburn hair in a bun and was dressed in an understated gray uniform tunic with a high collar, knee-length dress, and black boots. A single gold medal emblazoned with a hammer-and-sickle adorned her top.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Name, rank, and serial number only, Possible!" Stark barked.

"Possible?" the woman said, incredulous. "That is impossible!"

"You know, we hear that a lot," Ron observed.

"My name's Kim Possible," Kim said.

"And you?" the woman asked Ron. "Who are you?"

"You actually want to know my name?" Ron asked. "Coolio!"

"Your name!" the woman demanded. "Now!"

"Hey, you don't have to get all snippy," he responded.

"His name's Ron Stoppable," Kim said. "He's my partner and boyfriend."

"That's enough," Stark snapped. "I'm the commander of this mission and will speak for us …"

The mysterious woman and Kim looked at Stark with identical expressions of incredulity mixed with disdain.

"Freaky," Ron said.

" … I'm Lieutenant—" Stark continued before the woman cut him off.

"It is of no matter," she said dismissively. "Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable …"

"Now that you know who we are, why don't you tell us who you are?" Kim asked.

"I am Comrade Colonel Katerina Ivananova Vozmozhniya," the woman said imperiously.

"A Russian-speaking Comrade Colonel," Kim mused. "You're Soviet, aren't you?"

"Da. And you are American …"

Kim nodded.

"… and, it would appear, my relative."

"That seems to be the sitch," the teen said. "But how? Mom and Dad never mentioned anything about there being any Russians in the family."

"I am not surprised. I know how, because of her revolutionary beliefs, Mama was scorned, abandoned by her family, friends, even the man she foolishly loved and had to flee from the reactionaries lest she be put in the American gulag."

Kim struggled to process everything Katerina was telling her. "Your mother was Mim Possible?"

"Da," Katerina said.

"I didn't know your Aunt Mim was a Communist, KP," Ron said.

"She wasn't," Kim said.

"You are wrong," Katerina said passionately. "She fought bravely for her adopted motherland and died a hero of the Revolution! Everyone at the orphanage knew of the sacrifices she made for the Party. I only wish I had known her."

"When did she pass away?" Kim asked.

"Nineteen twenty-two."

"Poor Mim," Kim said as she quickly did the math and realized her Great Aunt had only been in her late thirties when she died.

"Okay, while math is just one of the many subjects in which I earned a Gentleman's C," Ron said, "if you're Aunt Mim's daughter that would make you something like ninety and you're looking way too hot for that …"

"Grrrrrrrr …."

Ron gulped as he heard the low growl coming from his girlfriend.

"Hey, aside from the eye color, she's you, just older, and can you blame me for thinking an older you will still be badically beautiful?" he stammered.

"You are so flawed," Kim said icily.

"Aw, c'mon, KP. You know I'm all about you," Ron whined.

"Are you, really?" Katerina asked seductively as she walked up to him and then ran her finger along the edge of his right ear. "Do you prefer eyes that are blue or eyes that are green?"

"Hands off, Comrade," the auburn-haired teen said dangerously. "He may be busted but he's my boyfriend."

"Hey, are you jealin'?" Ron asked.

"No!" Kim said a little too emphatically to be believed.

"I believe you are," Katerina said as she slowly ran her fingers through Ron's hair, then blew into his ear, causing him to squirm and Kim to seethe. Satisfied with the responses she was evoking, she smirked at her newly discovered relative and continued. "I was born in 1920 and was 38 years old when I entered the cryogenic tube. This is vhy I am still vhat your Ronya calls 'hot.' I am a woman vhile you are obviously still a little girl. I can see vhy he might prefer me."

"You so did not call me a little girl," Kim snarled.

"Da, I did," Katerina said.

"And I don't prefer you to KP!" Ron protested.

"Perhaps not now, but soon …" she purred, eliciting further unease from Ron and hostility from Kim.

"You speak excellent English for a Russian," King observed, hoping to draw Katerina's attention away from the two teens.

"I studied languages – English, French, German – at the University," she explained. "My grandpapa thought it would help me be more useful to the Motherland; State Security agreed."

"State Security? You mean the KGB?"

"Nyet," Katerina replied with disdain. "They are amateurs. I am with the Directorate for External Affairs, Threats, and Hostilities."

"You have got to be kidding me," Kim said drily.

Katerina shrugged. "I will admit it doesn't sound as ominous in Russian. Still, as the capitalists like to say, judge us by our results." Gesturing grandly, she said, "We built this station, these robots – in secret, undetected by the Americans or British – and vith it the Soviet Union vill defeat you!"

"I so don't think so," Kim said with a bemused smirk.

"Vhy?" Katerina demanded.

"While my gradage in current affairs was right up there with math," Ron answered, "I'm pretty sure the Soviet Union has been cancelled."

"Cancelled? Vhat are you talking about?"

"The Soviet Union disbanded in 1991," Kim explained. "Eastern Europe's free and part of the Euro Alliance."

"No!" Katerina bellowed. "It vas all so carefully planned. Ve vere going to seize the future for the Motherland!"

"Looks like your plans for the future are history," Kim said with the satisfaction reserved for a plot that has been foiled before it has begun.

"No, this cannot be," Katerina raged as she paced back and forth across the brig. "Ve studied the correlation of forces! Ve carefully deployed our forces. I vaited, I bided my time until your corrupt bourgeois institutions vere ready to crumble. The Vest vould be defeated and the Soviet Union vould rule the world! The Soviet Union cannot be gone. You lie!"

"It's the truth, Comrade," Stark said derisively before he sneered, "looks like you'll just have to take over the world by yourself."

Katerina, who'd been pacing and ranting, stood stock still and fell silent as she considered what the SLUG had just suggested. "Rule the vorld myself? Of course!" she finally declared. "I vould do a much better job than those old fools in the Kremlin! Come," she commanded her robots. "There is much for us to do!" With the air of someone inspired by a new mission, she turned on her heel and left the brig, followed by her minions.

"That was so not helpful," Kim observed as she glared at Stark.

"Dude, KP's right," Ron added with the conviction of one who could speak from personal experience. "Never, ever give a potential villain any ideas."

"How was I supposed to know she was going to take me seriously?" Stark asked defensively.

"Well, she did, so we have to deal with the situation," King observed. "What should we do now?" he asked Kim.

"Excuse me, King, but I'm still in command here," Stark snapped.

"With all due respect, _sir_," King responded, "Kim and Ron are the experts in this kind of scenario. I believe we should defer to their expertise before we do anything else to adversely impact the situation."

"Fine," Stark groused. "So, what do you suggest?" he asked.

Kim screwed up her face in thought. "We know who Katerina is, what this lair was designed for, and what she plans to do next. I don't think we get anything from holding back anymore."

"You want me to monkey up?" Ron asked.

"Please and thank you," she said.

Ron closed his eyes and began to concentrate.

"He's taking a nap?" Stark asked incredulously.

"Hellloooo! Quiet, please," an annoyed Ron said. "Trying to summon the mystical monkey power here!"

"Whatever," Stark said with a dismissive roll of the eyes.

Moments later, as if in rebuke of the SLUG, the room dimmed before it was bathed with a blood-red light and filled with the chittering of spectral monkeys. Kim watched in fascination as, for the first time, she saw her boyfriend summon the power with which he'd defeated the would-be conquerors of the world and saved her from a most gorchy fate. As the light began to dance and swirl, and the chittering became louder, Ron was surrounded by a coruscating blue aura.

"That is the coolest thing I've ever seen," King murmured approvingly.

"Hee-yah!" Ron cried out as he felt the mystical monkey power flow through him. Without any effort, he quickly broke free of his shackles, then tumbled to the floor.

"Aw man," he grumbled before he turned to Kim whose frankly admiring expression set aside any incipient feelings of inadequacy

"Ron …" she said, awed by his power – and the gentleness with which he approached her.

Smiling, he snapped her shackles and caught her before she could fall to the deck. "Can't have my bon-diggity GF hitting the floor and ruining her mystique," he said.

"You are too much, Ron Stoppable," Kim said before she gave him a buss on the cheek.

"Hey, I am what I is," he said with a shrug and a goofy grin.

"Spankin'," she said with a fond smile. "Now let's free the rest of the team."

"On it, KP," he said as he turned to King. He broke the SLUG's shackles, made sure the Navy man didn't fall to the deck, and turned to Stark.

"Who's da man?" the monkey master asked.

"You've got to be kidding!" Stark said.

Kim's first instinct was to tell Ron to stop playing around, but she felt he'd earned this moment after all the disrespect Stark had shown him.

"You want me to free you, you know what you have to say," the tow-headed teen said with other-worldly serenity.

"Fine, you're the man," Stark mumbled.

"I can't hear you," Ron sing-songed.

"I said you're the man," the SLUG replied grouchily.

"Ah-booyah," Ron said with satisfaction as he snapped Stark's bonds, turning away as the self-important officer tumbled to the deck. "Now what, KP?"

Kim looked to the door, then turned back to her boyfriend and partner. With her trademark determination, she answered him: "It's time for a Possible family reunion."

_To Be Continued …_


	8. Chapter 8

My thanks to Mr. Wizard, Boris Yeltsin, Shockwave88, captainkodak1, whitem, JCS1966, The Enduring Man-Child, Jillie Rose, Eddy13, waveform, Guns Knives and Napalm, campy, Katsumara, Shrike176, Comet Moon, screaming phoenix, bigherb81, Joe Stoppinghem, CajunBear73, Quathis, daywalkr82, RonHeartbreaker, TexasDad, Molloy, noncynic, and Nutzkie for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

A hearty cпасибо to campy for proofreading this chapter.

Leave a review, receive a response.

KP © Disney; all original characters © the author.

* * *

Author's Note: for any of you who may be wondering at the shorter-than-usual length of this chapter, I decided to conclude this installment at what I believe to be a natural transition point. Besides, contrary to Steve Barkin, quantity does not beat quality …

* * *

I.

Kim, Ron, Stark, and King emerged from the brig only to find themselves facing a platoon of armed robohenchmen.

"Retreat," Stark ordered.

"Just a minute," Kim said before she turned to Ron. "This something you can handle?"

Thinking back to how he'd used the mystical monkey power to push away Warhok, Ron nodded. "Yeah, I think I can."

"Then get to work, Monkey Master."

"On it, KP," he said before he turned to face the robots on their left. He dropped into an open-legged stance, extended his arms, cupped his hands and concentrated. Moments later, ten mechanical enforcers flew backwards and slammed into a bulkhead. Ron then pivoted and repeated the process.

King stared at Ron with awe, Stark looked at him in disbelief, and Kim looked at him with wistfulness.

"Come on, let's go," she finally said, her voice flat, as she began to lead the way down the corridor at a brisk pace.

"You okay, KP?" Ron asked he tried to keep up with his girlfriend.

"Spankin'," she said unconvincingly.

"You sure?"

"Fine, really."

"Uh, hello, best friend boyfriend here," he said.

"Really, Ron, it's okay," she snapped.

"And denial isn't just a river in Ethiopia," he countered.

Kim stopped and shot Ron a disbelieving look. "Ethiopia?"

"Gotcha," he said with a wide grin. "Despite my less than Kim Possible gradage in geography, even I know that the Nile is really a river in Egypt."

Kim offered a wan smile and shook her head. Then she sighed. "Fine, here's the sitch and I know it's going to sound so shallow but you're so beyond stepping up now – you've got super powers and you take down aliens and robot armies and break free of iron shackles and, and … never mind."

"KP?" he asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Kim frowned, bit her lip, and sighed. "You don't need me. You can save the world on your own and that's so not fair because saving the world is my thing. I know that sounds selfish of me and you have the right to excel but, well, there it is." She folded her arms across her chest, then turned away.

"We don't have time for this," Stark snapped.

"Yes, we do," King said as he grabbed his unit commander's arm and pulled him away. "We'll do some recon."

"Thanks, dude," Ron said with an appreciative nod.

"No, wait," Kim said. "Stark's right. We need to keep our heads in the game."

"You sure, KP?" Ron asked, skeptical.

"Yes," she said. "We need to deal with the Katerina sitch now. We can deal with the us sitch later."

Ron gulped. He didn't like the sound of an 'us sitch.'

II.

"Status?" Cochrane typed into his keyboard

"No change since we lost contact with the teams," Spruance replied. "Should we enter the object?"

Cochrane considered the question for a moment. He was concerned about the loss of contact with his people and was tempted to send Spruance and Nimitz in to investigate. Balanced against that was the confidence he had in Stark, who, though an arrogant son of a gun, was a highly trained professional – and had the undeniably resourceful and intelligent Kim Possible with him. The captain made a decision.

"Negative. Continue to monitor the situation."

"Aye, sir. Spruance out."

Cochrane sat in the quiet of his small ready room, looking at the now-darkened monitor and prayed that his instincts had been sound. Then he contacted his superiors.

III.

The path clear after Ron's disposal of the robogoons, the foursome quickly made its way to the command center. There they found all of the equipment activated and ready to be used – but no Katerina.

"That is so clichéd," Kim said as she gazed up at the empty chair on the raised dais.

"But it is classic," Ron observed.

"True," she agreed.

"So, now what?" he asked.

"Find a way to shut this thing down," she said.

Stark looked at Kim with incredulity. "Oh, like there's going to be an off switch," he scoffed.

"Actually …" Ron began to say before Kim cut him off.

"You're the supposed expert," she told Stark curtly. "Defuse it, disarm it, disable it or whatever it is you do."

"And what are you going to do?" he asked.

"Have a little chat with my cousin," she snapped as she turned and hurried out of the room, Ron close on her heels.

IV.

"You're absolutely sure that thing isn't yours?" Lyle Lott asked. "Because if I find out it is …"

President Boris Marionetka smiled. "Mr. President – Lyle. May I call you Lyle?"

"Mr. President will do fine. Your boss can call me Lyle." Lott was referring to Vladimir Kratkost, the former spy, judo black belt, height-challenged ex-president who everyone knew was the real ruler of Russia.

"Very well, Mr. President," he said coolly. "I am sure the station has not been deployed by the Russian government or any of its armed forces."

Lyle stared at the screen for a moment and snorted. "Which means it could have been deployed by the Soviets or some rogue element based on your territory."

Marionetka shrugged. "As we have seen in recent days, anything is possible, no?"

Lott cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, let's try this on for size: that tub, which has Cyrillic written all over it, poses a potential danger to one of my carrier battle groups and thus to the United States. The American people are a little antsy right now, given what happened to Middleton."

"I understand," Marionetka said solemnly.

"I'm not sure if you do," Lott replied. "If that blintz so much as moves, I'm going to give the order to blow it up."

Marionetka pursed his lips. "I will need to consult with my national security advisors before I respond."

"Fine. And after you talk with Kratkost, have him call me," an exasperated Lott said before he hung up the phone. The swung his chair around and looked out the windows of his office. Then he looked to the door. "Polly!"

The president's political advisor poked her head into the Oval Office.

"Sir?"

"We've got a problem," he said as he loosened his tie. "Get me Betty Director and General Syms. Now."

_To Be Continued …_


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks to LoPe21, spectre666, Shrike176, RonHeartbreaker, bigherb81, whitem, screaming phoenix, daywalkr82, Molloy, Katsumara, Nutzkie, noncynic, TexasDad, LJ58, and Aesopian for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Leave a review, receive some borscht or a reply.

* * *

Thanks, as always, to campy for his proofreading assistance.

* * *

A special "booyah!" to RonHeartbreaker, TexasDad, and Aesopian for their mad fu geography knowledge. They, of course, were indeed correct about a Nile (the Blue, or as Ron Stoppable might say, "the _other_ Nile") being in Ethiopia. Pangaea Prizes are in the virtual mail. Good catch, you non-conformist punks!

* * *

KP © Disney; original characters © the Author.

* * *

I.

Vladimir Kratkost read the musty old files with the deepest of interest. The moment Marionetka had told him about the conversation with Lott, the former president of Russia and current power behind the Kremlin knew where he had to go for answers. As a young agent, he'd heard wild stories about a disbanded secret directorate and a weapon of unimaginable power that had gone missing.

He left his spartan office at the Kremlin and had his driver take him to the Lubyanka, where he soon found himself rummaging through highly classified, if musty, files deep in the bowels of the old secret police headquarters. If there was any truth to those old stories, and the presence of the mysterious object in the Pacific now suggested there was, this was the place to find answers.

He looked through the boxes of records himself, not trusting anyone else with the information, should it exist. He had been searching for more than four hours when he came across a yellowed piece of onionskin bearing the heading "Directorate for External Affairs, Threats, and Hostilities." Kratkost's heart beat faster – the fabled agency had actually existed. It only remained to be seen whether the weapon was real, too. Another two and a half hours of leafing through ancient documents revealed that it was.

Kratkost read with fascination and even some awe about the ridiculously bold scheme that prompted the creation of the weapon and the people, especially the remarkable woman, who had brought it into being. He had been amazed by what she and her colleagues had managed to achieve with such primitive technology. Had things worked out differently, Soviets would have walked on – and conquered – the moon more than a decade before the Americans set foot in the Sea of Tranquility. That, of course, was not how events had unfolded – which, Kratkost mused at the time, was a good thing: if they had, it was highly unlikely he would now be the most powerful man in Russia.

He sat alone in the silence of the records room, debating his next step. Patriotic pride encouraged him to lay claim to the remarkable piece of his country's history but prudence dictated otherwise, not if the craziest part of the plan had worked. If the woman had succeeded in placing herself into cryogenic stasis, survived a half-century and emerged alive and well, she could pose an unacceptable threat to the status quo, including Kratkost's hold on power. Still, to meet her …

The one-time secret policeman knew one thing: regardless of what he did, information was power. He gathered up the papers – the plans, the schematics, and everything relating to Colonel Katerina Vozmozhniya and Project Luna – and left the building.

II.

Kim hurried down the corridor, with Ron in hot pursuit.

"KP!" he called after her.

"I can handle this on my own, Ron," she said sharply without even looking over her shoulder.

Stunned, he came to a dead stop. "Man, I never thought I'd see the day you ran away from a problem."

She, too, now stopped, swung around, and glared at her boyfriend. "I am so not running away from a problem."

"You could sure fool me," he said, his arms folded across his chest.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"You just told me that you're worried about me and my mad fu monkey powers," he explained. "But instead of talking to me about that, you just took off."

"I did not 'take off'," she countered. "And in case you've forgotten, my whacked cousin is trying to take over the world! Now can we stop wasting time so I can focus on the Katerina sitch?"

Ron shook his head. "I guess I'm not the only one with mad running away skills," he remarked.

Kim growled.

"Hey, just saying," he offered, his hands held up in a placatory manner. Deciding to leave aside this particular conversation for later he asked, "So, what do we do next?"

"I'll find Katerina; you make sure Stark doesn't get into any more trouble."

Ron shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"What?" Kim demanded.

"Uh, I'm not liking the idea of you going after her alone."

"I can handle myself," Kim said curtly.

"Duh. Nobody said you couldn't," Ron replied. "But why go it alone if you can have some back up?"

"Ron, I don't need you," Kim shot back, immediately regretting her choice of words.

"Oh," he said, stung, disappointment writ large on his face.

"No! No! That's not what I meant!" she protested as she took his hands.

"Then what did you mean?" he asked, still hurt.

Kim looked at him, then sighed. "You're right. I am running away," she admitted. "Watching what you did with Warhok and Warmonga, what you just did with the robots. It was incredible. But it made me feel superfluous."

"Uh, school word," he said.

Kim rolled her eyes. "I don't like feeling I'm not needed and that's how I feel when you use your monkey powers." She paused, then said softly. "You don't need me to fight the bad guys and … the world won't need me."

Ron Stoppable may not have been the sharpest tool in Aisle 87 of Smarty Mart (hardware and portable nuclear reactors) but he had no trouble sensing that in terms of his relationship with Kim, and indeed her own sense of who she was, this moment was of comparable magnitude to that night more than a year earlier when they found themselves tied to giant fake cacti in the Bueno Nacho headquarters' storeroom. He looked at his girlfriend for a long moment, then he rubbed the back of his neck. "KP, we both know that saving the world's a lot more than kicking bad guy booty. And while mystical monkey power may now enable the Ronman to drop a world of hurt on the villain du jour, it's done absolutely nada for his brainage. I'm not the honor roll student with a gazillion college acceptance letters."

"Meaning?"

"We're a team," he said, placing his large hands on her shoulders. "But one thing I've learned playing football – besides avoiding a tackle from Suitcase Sanchez from Eastside at all costs – is that a team still needs a leader, and you are one bon-diggity leader who I'd follow anywhere."

"Thanks," Kim said, touched by the compliment.

"I'm not done," Ron said. "Next time you feel super fluidy—"

"Superfluous," Kim corrected with a fond smirk.

"Another thing I learned playing football is to never interrupt the big motivational speech. Of course, that may be because Barkin would give me detention, which doesn't seem fair, but—"

"Ron, I really appreciate this but we really do have to deal with the Katerina sitch."

"Okay, just let me finish. Now, where was I? Oh yeah. Always remember that you're Kim Possible, the girl who climbed Mount Everest before she had her driver's license, fixed the Hoover Dam with a rubber band and some bubble gum, learned how to fly a space plane in about five minutes by watching a monkey, and figured out that Drakken was stealing Nakasumi's equipment to build an army of evil robots — though I still wouldn't put it past Doctor D to try to steal Christmas some year."

"Anything else?" she asked, basking in the litany of compliments.

Ron screwed up his face in thought and rubbed his chin. "Nope. That's it."

Kim responded by embracing him. "You are too much."

"I am who I is," Ron said as he returned the hug. "So, we okay?

"Mmm hmm," she replied. "Though it would be spankin' if my BF could teach me monkey kung fu."

"Now that's my Kimila speaking," he said approvingly. "So now what?"

"I still have to have a little girl talk with Comrade Cousin."

"You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"No," Kim said. "Something tells me Katerina isn't going to willingly turn over the keys to this lair …"

"So while you two are dishing the dirt you'll want me to go back and help King and Stark find a way to shut this baby down?"

"Please and thank you."

"Coolio. The Ron Factor is in da house!"

"I'm counting on it," Kim said before she brushed her lips against Ron's. "Be careful."

"Back atcha."

Reluctantly, the two teens pulled apart. Then they looked into one another's eyes, squeezed each other's hands, and headed in opposite directions, Kim in search of Katerina and Ron to the control room.

III.

"First we're invaded by aliens, now we've got some mysterious Soviet doomsday weapon in the Pacific. Any other surprises I should be expecting?" Lyle Lott asked acidly.

"If we knew to expect them, they wouldn't be surprises, Mr. President," General Syms answered.

Lott glared at the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, causing the man to shrink back in his chair.

"Doctor Director?" the president asked, his tone daring her to say anything even remotely as facile as what he'd just heard.

"None that I know of, sir," she said calmly. "The villains have all been accounted for in the wake of the invasion and are now under GJ supervision."

"Finally, some good news," Lott said as he dropped into the chair behind his massive oak desk. He steepled his fingers in front of his face, then looked from Syms to Director. "I need this situation resolved, and fast. I've told Marionetka to tell Kratkost that if that thing so much as moves, I'm authorizing our people to blow it up and send the pieces back to Mother Russia, COD."

"I'll relay that authorization to the _Enterprise_," Syms said.

Betty frowned.

"Talk to me, Bets," Lyle said.

"Are you aware that there are Americans on board investigating the situation?"

"Yeah, I am. And last I heard, they've gone silent. For all we know, they've been taken out of the game."

"I doubt that," Betty countered.

"Let me guess: because Kim Possible is involved."

"Her track record speaks for itself."

"Possible may be good at what she does, but my political people tell me there's video circulating of her being kidnapped by our friends from outer space. That, in turn, has led to chatter on the Internet of how she may now be nothing more than an alien stooge or a pod person. It did until a few days ago," Lott retorted. "The cheerleader is damaged goods."

"That's not fair," Betty protested. "Kim managed to escape from captivity, destroy the alien space ship, and defeat the invaders."

"_Drakken_ defeated the invaders," Lott said. "End of official story unless you want to say otherwise."

"No," Betty replied; she was still trying to determine what had happened in Middleton and had even gone so far as to reactivate the Ron Factor project. She had reluctantly concluded that until she had more answers, she would have to go along with Lott's decision to promote Drakken as the hero of the day.

"Look," Lott said. "I'm a reasonable guy but we can't afford to be caught with our pants down twice in one week. The voters, I mean, the citizens, demand action by their government to protect them."

"This nation, indeed the world, owes Kim Possible its gratitude and its support for all she's done, regardless of what happened during the Lorwardian invasion. To take actions that would endanger her would be unconscionable."

"General Syms?"

"I've worked with Ms. Possible, too, and am grateful for her assistance in dealing with the Four One Stroke Five S Type Scenario at Area 51 two years ago."

"Do I even want to know?" Lott asked.

Betty and Syms exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

"That's what I thought," Lott said. "So, you were saying, General?"

"This country owes a debt of gratitude towards that young lady. However, our research on flying saucers, alien technology, yadda yadda, indicates that it is possible that she has been compromised. Aggressive action in this situation may allow for us to eliminate a potential threat to the United States while preserving Kim Possible's reputation."

"I cannot believe you," Betty said with disgust. "You're not a general, you're a, a …"

"Politician?" Lott suggested with a bemused expression.

Betty squirmed. "Mr. President, no offense but …"

"None taken," he replied. Then, flashing his famous grin, he added, "For what it's worth, I haven't even heard back from Kratkost. Maybe Possible and the others will get out, that tub will sink, and everyone will be happy."

"In that case, I believe Ms. Possible should be brought in for evaluation by our Alien Abduction Debriefing Team."

"Our what?" Lott asked, reminding himself yet again that for reasons ranging from scandal to health the alternatives for chairman of the JCS had been even less attractive than Syms. "Are you serious?"

"As serious as a heart attack, Mr. President. The AADT—"

The door to the Oval Office opened and Polly Titian, the president's most trusted advisor walked in. "Mr. President, Vladimir Kratkost is on Line One."

IV.

Kim hurried down the curving corridor, searching for a passage that would lead to the core of the vessel. She quickly opened and closed every door or bulkhead she saw, peering into utility closets, weapons lockers loaded with fifty-year-old weapons, utilitarian escape pods, and sleeping quarters with bare bunks. Finally, she found what she was looking for: another passage, at the distant end of which was a door.

She picked up her pace, convinced she had found her cousin. Years of infiltrating lairs, villains redoubts, and evil battle stations, combined with the facts of this particular situation – it only made sense that Katerina would have spent her decades-long deep freeze in the most protected part of the lair and that she would have wanted to have access to the lair's control systems from that location the moment she woke up – told the teen hero that the Soviet agent could be nowhere else.

Finally, Kim reached the end of the passage. She carefully opened the door and saw her cousin standing before a control panel and what had to be the cryogenic chamber. Katerina's posture and expression made it clear she was expecting Kim's arrival.

"I see you have escaped and somehow evaded my forces," the Russian said, her tone carrying a hint of maternal indulgence. "Well done."

"Save the compliments for later, Katerina. This communist party is over."

Katerina arched an eyebrow. "I do not think so, Kimcha," she said as she pressed a button, releasing a torrent of flying red objects from recessed panels that dotted the bulkheads. "It has just begun."

Kim had just enough to time to duck, tuck, and roll to avoid being struck by what she recognized were shuriken. She got to her feet, turned and yanked one of the objects from the wall. "Red throwing stars?" she said disdainfully. "Talk about pre-villain."

"You do not like them? Then how about this?" Katerina asked as she pressed another button, this time activating a stylized hammer and sickle that had been mounted on the bulkhead.

Much to Kim's chagrin, the hammer flew off the wall towards her. She did a back flip, avoiding a blow to the head, then jumped up and avoided the sickle, which swept beneath her. "Looks like you're going the way of the USSR, Katerina," Kim said.

"Perhaps," she said. "Perhaps not," she added as she spun on her heel and sent a kick flying towards Kim's sternum. The teen did another back flip, just avoiding the attack. Then she planted her feet, dropped into a defensive crouch, and extended her hand. "Bring," she ordered her cousin.

"If you insist," Katerina replied with menace. The two women began to warily circle one another until, with speed Kim found impressive, Katerina lunged at her. The two began grappling; Kim had just about prised herself free of her cousin when Katerina stomped on her foot. The Russian took advantage of the distraction, let go of Kim and drove the palm of her hand into her foe's solar plexus, causing the teen to double over in pain. Then, before Kim could recover, Katerina clenched her fists and made a club of her hands, which she brought down on the younger woman's shoulders, sending her sprawling to the ground.

The experienced Soviet agent looked down dismissively at her relative, who appeared unconscious, and shook her head in disgust. Then she reached down and took the teen's wrists and began to drag her. Katerina, confident that she'd defeated Kim, was caught off guard when Kim reached up, wrapped her fingers around her wrists, and pulled her down and to the side, then rolled out of the way and sprang back to her feet.

"Ready for more?" Kim asked.

"Perhaps there is something of Mama in you," Katerina said with grudging approval as she rose. "You are not as soft as I would expect an American to be."

"You should know we Possible women are a pretty tough lot," Kim said as they began to once again warily circle one another.

"We need not be enemies," Katerina said. "Join me. Together we will rule the world."

"So not going to happen," Kim replied.

"Why?" Katerina asked. "Because of the boy? He will abandon you, just like his ancestor did Mama."

"If there's one thing I can count on, it's Ron having my back. Now, always," Kim countered. "And as for Jon, he didn't abandon Mim. He spent his life searching for her."

"Liar!" Katerina said as she suddenly launched into a flying kick at Kim.

"So not. It's all in his diary," Kim explained as she dodged the assault. "He looked for her for years and years."

"It is not true!" the Russian bellowed as she pivoted and directed a karate chop at Kim's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Katerina, but it is," the teen replied as she twisted and blocked her cousin's attack, then countered with one of her own. "Somebody played you."

"You are wrong!" Katerina roared as she parried the blow, then grabbed for Kim's arm. "You only say these things because of the shame you feel for how your family betrayed Mama because of her dedication to the Revolution."

Kim bristled before she mimicked Katerina's move and used her momentum to throw her. "Newsflash: Mim ran away from home fourteen years before the Russian Revolution and the only reason she left was because she was framed for a crime she didn't commit!"

"Then how did she wind up in Russia?" the Russian challenged as she landed on the ground near the control panel, rolled, and climbed to her feet, "Tell me that!"

"I don't know," Kim conceded. "But I do know she liked to help people and she was drawn to adventure. Maybe she was helping war victims. Maybe she was trying to help chil—"

"Enough!" Katerina spat out as she threw a large switch. "I have had enough of your treacherous lies!"

Kim was looking about to respond when klaxons began to blare and the entire lair lurched. Katerina, clearly expecting the violent movement, grabbed onto the edge of console while an unsuspecting Kim lost her footing. Katerina lost no time in taking advantage of Kim's situation.

Baring her teeth in a feral grin, Katerina rushed her cousin, pushing her back into the open cryogenic stasis unit. The teen stumbled backwards into the chamber as her cousin slammed shut the door which she then secured. She then returned to the console where she began to manipulate some controls. Moments later a frigid, wispy gas began to seep upwards, slowly enshrouding the trapped teen.

"Let me out of here!" Kim demanded as she beat futilely on the glass, desperately trying to escape the enveloping cold of her prison.

"Perhaps in fifty or sixty years – should you find a way to thaw yourself and return from the moon," the Russian replied before she headed for the door. "Until then, _do s'bdanya_, Kimcha."

_

* * *

To Be Continued …_


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks to Mr. Wizard, Boris Yeltsin, Comet Moon, daywalkr82, whitem, CajunBear73, bigherb81, Shockwave88, JCS1966, Katsumara, Eddy13, Quathis, LoPe21, sharper1988, RonHeartbreaker, Shrike176, waveform, kpfan72491, campy, screaming phoenix, Molloy, noncynic, Joe Stoppinghem, and Nutzkie for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Leave a review and I'll send a reply.

Thanks, as always, to campy for proofreading this chapter.

KP © Disney; original characters © the author.

* * *

I.

The command center shuddered violently. Ron, Stark, and King all lost their footing and were thrown to the deck.

"Dude, did you touch anything?" Ron asked Stark as he struggled back to his feet.

"No," a visibly annoyed Stark snapped.

"I wonder what's happening?" King asked as the deck plates vibrated gently and he sensed upwards movement.

"Don't know, but with KP on the case, we're Chauncey," Ron said confidently.

"Meaning?"

"We should do what she asked us to do: find the off switch for this thing."

"Off switch?" Stark said in disbelief. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

Flashing a look of knowing disdain that would have impressed Bonnie Rockwaller, Ron simply replied, "You wouldn't understand. It's an outer space save the world thing."

II.

Spruance and Nimitz powered up their sleds and quickly backed away from the lair as it began to move, not wanting to be caught up in any cavitation wells. Once the two SLUGs had retreated to what they hoped was a safe distance, Spruance keyed in a message for the captain: _Object is rising to the surface. Awaiting orders._

III.

Kim had not only begun to lose sensation in her toes, she found herself growing lightheaded and sleepy and concluded that part of the cryogenic process involved induced hibernation. _I so don't need this, Cousin_, she thought with annoyance as she yawned.

She knew she had to work quickly if she was going to escape her prison and not take a nap for the next five decades. While part of her wanted to keep hitting the sides of the tube, both to vent her anger and to keep her circulation going, Kim accepted that she had to concentrate on her surroundings and so stopped her banging. Her teeth chattering, her body shivering, she forced herself to survey the interior from top to bottom. It didn't take long to confirm that there were no interior controls, no handles, and no bars. In short, there was no question: she was trapped. For a moment, she was gripped by an unaccustomed despair, something she'd last felt in the storeroom at Bueno Nacho headquarters more than a year earlier. Making matters worse, this time, Ron wasn't present to boost her spirits.

_It's so not supposed to end this way_, she mused. _I'm supposed to beat the bad guy, Ron and I are supposed to find a way to go to college together, build a life, share a future …_

She imagined an older version of herself in bed with Ron on a weekend morning, children rushing into the room, laughing, screaming, giggling …

Now middle-aged, she saw herself at a wedding. The bride was blonde, had green eyes, her face, Ron's smile. He, too, had matured, and stood by the girl's side, happy – until his trousers fell down …

Younger again, and triumphant, she took in the breathtaking vista from atop K-2 after completing her solo climb, anticipating a celebration with Ron after her descent …

She was alone with Ron, on a beach, holding each other close, kissing hungrily, hands exploring, going where they'd not gone before …

_Head in the game, Possible_, she chided herself as she realized she was drifting. If any of those reveries were going to come to pass, she knew she had to escape, and fast. _Ron's right. I can do anything_, she told herself. _ Which means I can get out of here. I just need to focus_.

She looked downward and carefully studied the floor. At its center was the grate through which the cryogenic sleeping gas seeped. As cold, frustrated, tired, and numb as she was, she couldn't help but smirk. _If Ron were here, he'd probably wish we had a shrink ray thingie so we could squeeze through and into the ventilation shaft_. She stared blankly at the metal grille and, realizing she was drifting again, shook her head. She was about to look up and away when her gaze settled on a screw, and then on three others, with each in a corner_. It's screwed into the floor! If I can remove the screws I can … do what?_ Kim grimaced: the opening into the shaft was far too small for her to climb down and she most definitely did not have a shrink ray. Even if she did, she'd only be heading into the gas. As she once again considered her seemingly hopeless predicament, her fury mounted and she found herself wanting to throw and break something – which soon gave her an idea.

Kim looked at her suit and focused on the zipper tag at her throat. Her hands trembling from the cold, she grabbed the tag and twisted. A moment later, the small metal rectangle came loose. "Sp-spankin'," she said to herself, pointedly ignoring the vapor cloud that formed as she spoke. She then took a deep breath and knelt down. It was hard to see at the bottom of the tube thanks to the mist and she had to feel her away about. Soon, though, she found one of the screws. Her hand shaking, she brought the tag down to the screw and carefully slipped the tag's edge into its slot. She began to twist her hand counterclockwise and, much to her relief, the screw began to rotate. Seconds later, it was free.

IV.

"Okay, Vlad, I'll tell my people," Lott said, his back to Syms and Director. The president hung up the phone, swung his chair around, and looked at the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the leader of Global Justice. He looked annoyed. "Kratkost says we'd be doing him a favor if we blew the thing up."

"I'll relay an order to the _Enterprise_, stat," Syms said eagerly.

"Hold your horses, Curly," Lott said, using the nickname he'd given the bald general the first time they'd met.

"Sir?"

"If Ivan is so eager to have me take out his trash, I want to know why," Lott said, earning an approving nod from Betty Director.

"But the threat to the carrier strike group …" Syms protested. "We may be looking at a scenario Five Tango Beta Dash Six."

"Invasion by Mutated Giant Killer Manatees?" Director asked incredulously.

"No, that's Five Tango Gamma Slash Four. Five Tango Beta Dash Six is a sneak attack at sea using seemingly outmoded technology."

"How can it be a sneak attack if we've already engaged the weapon?" Director retorted.

Lott rubbed his temples, and spoke before Syms could answer. "Bets, you think the cheerleader is so good, find a way to talk to her, figure out what's going on."

"Then?" she inquired.

"Sir, permission to at least authorize the _Enterprise_ carrier group to take defensive measures," Syms importuned.

Lott considered his general's request for a moment. "Tell them that if the blintz looks like it's actually going to attack, they should deal with it."

"Deal with it? How?"

"With what I believe Bets' colleagues in the spook community would call 'extreme prejudice'."

V.

Ron, Stark, and King realized that other than the button Stark had inadvertently pushed during their previous visit to the control room, they didn't know the function of any of the buttons, switches, or levers that surrounded them, and, given that the craft now appeared to be in motion, randomly pressing buttons might not be the best course of action, as tempting as that was.

"I wonder if there's an owner's manual somewhere?" Ron asked.

"I'm sure it's right in the glove box," Stark sneered.

"You figured out where that was?" Ron asked. "Coolio."

Stark growled. "You really can't be this stupid."

"Hey, you don't need to get personal," Ron snapped.

Stark was about to reply when King declared, "Hot darn!"

Stark and Ron turned to the SLUG and saw he was grinning triumphantly. In his hand was a manual, with Latin letters on the cover.

"Ah booyah!" Ron said. "English rocks."

"Actually, it's not English," King said. "It's German …"

Ron's face fell. "Booyah denied."

"… And fortunately, mein Herr, I'm fluent."

"Booyah restored!" Ron said as he exchanged a high five with King.

VI.

Cochrane stood alone on the flying bridge, watching the ocean, as he patiently waited for the object to break the surface. He scanned the surrounding area, spotting the missile cruisers, destroyers, and tenders that comprised his strike group. He'd ordered the ships of his armada to stand off, wanting to give the submersible a wide berth when it breached. He then looked skywards, where a squadron of jets patrolled the leaden grey skies. Finally, he cast his gaze upon the waves, knowing that somewhere beneath his fleet the _Colorado_ silently patrolled the depths.

The captain was grateful for the discretion that had been given to him by the Pentagon. He was fully prepared to destroy the Soviet weapon, but would wait for now, hoping that once it surfaced, he might be able to contact Stark or one of his party and gather more information before issuing any orders. Still, he was uneasy. For while he was determined to give his people an opportunity to return to the _Enterprise,_ he could let nothing endanger his ships.

VII.

Kim had undone three screws and was working on the fourth when she dropped the zipper tag. Her entire body was trembling from the cold and she felt her extremities going numb. The desire to give up was growing stronger, but she forced herself to concentrate. She carefully felt around for the makeshift screwdriver, and was greatly relieved when her fingers brushed across it. With difficulty, grasped the tag and then brought it to the fourth screw.

She carefully, slowly rotated the tag, but nothing happened. She turned again, and, much to her frustration, nothing happened again. She twisted her tool a third time, and this time the screw gave way; a small smile formed on her all-but-frozen face.

A few moments later, she had removed the screws and removed the grate from the floor. Unsteadily, she rose to her feet, struggling to remain awake. She was almost erect when she dropped the grate. She'd now lost all feeling in her hands and was having trouble closing her fingers. She bent down and retrieved the metal rectangle, fighting off the urge to curl up and go to sleep. She forced herself to stand up, then rammed the object against the glass, which cracked, but, much to her disappointment, did not shatter. Now sensing she was about to succumb to the gas, Kim summoned her ebbing strength and slammed the grate against the glass. She watched with growing satisfaction as the single crack turned into a spider web of fractures. Determined to break free, she took one more swing, this time breaking the walls of her prison. She tumbled forward and through the broken glass, tripping over the edge of the cryogenic unit before she collapsed to the deck.

_

* * *

To Be Continued …_


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks to Boris Yeltsin, captainkodak1, Mr. Wizard, daywalkr82, whitem, Shockwave88, Comet Moon, Quathis, Katsumara, Eddy13, Classic Cowboy, JCS1966, Shrike176, bigherb81, CajunBear73, campy, screaming phoenix, kpfan72491, RonHeartbreaker, Zoooch12, sharper1988, Molloy, and noncynic for revieiwing and to everyone for reading.

Leave a review and I'll send a reply.

Thanks to campy for proofreading this chapter; the borscht is in the mail.

KP © Disney; original characters © the author

* * *

I.

Katerina opened the hatch, climbed through the opening, and smiled: there before her was a gleaming modified MiG 21, exactly where it had been left fifty years earlier. She performed a quick visual inspection of the fighter and was relieved to discover that it remained secured and undisturbed. Still, she knew there was reason to be concerned about the state of the jet's systems and fuel after a half century – the plane would require a more thorough examination before it was flown.

Before performing her review, though, she made her way over to a locker, pulled out a flight suit, and changed. Then she grabbed her helmet, walked back to the plane, climbed a ladder, and opened the cockpit bubble. She was about to get into the aircraft when the alert klaxons began blaring and the red lights began flashing, which could mean only one thing: the cryogenic containment tube had somehow been compromised.

II.

"What are the odds?" Ron asked as he covered his ears and looked accusingly at Stark.

"I didn't touch anything!" Stark protested.

"Something must have triggered that alarm," King observed. "The question is what."

"What's the book say?" Ron asked.

"Good question," the SLUG answered. He looked for an index, then turned to the section on alarms. "Hmmmm."

"Is that a good 'hmmmm' or a bad 'hmmmm'?" Ron wondered.

"Honestly? I don't know," King said. "The alarm system is activated for one of three reasons: intruder alert—"

"Been there, done that," Ron said.

"—The cryogenic containment system's been compromised."

"Negative," Stark said. "Vozmozhnoskaya had already deactivated that system."

"Then that leaves the third possibility: the lair's going to self-destruct."

III.

"Great," Kim mumbled as the unwelcome sound of the alarm began to draw her into consciousness. "I'm going to be late for school."

She cracked open an eye and immediately noticed the flashing lights that kept bathing the room in red. Her first thought was that the Tweebs were up to something. But she soon noticed her head wasn't on a pillow, but the floor. And she had carpeting in her room, not a steel deck littered with shards of glass. Everything came back to her in a rush. "Katerina," she growled.

Despite the lingering numbness in her legs and hands, Kim managed to get to her feet. And while it took a moment to steady herself, she was soon out of the chamber and in search of her cousin.

IV.

"Where are you going?" Stark demanded as he interposed himself between Ron and the door.

"Kim's in trouble," Ron said, his tone making clear this should have been obvious to Stark.

"We're all in trouble if this thing explodes," the Navy man stated flatly.

"Dude, it's not going to blow up," an exasperated Ron said.

"Excuse me?"

Ron sighed. "Whenever a lair is about to self-destruct, there's a count down. Do you hear any counting?"

"No, but—"

"_Detonatzia logova proizoidet b desyat minitach."_

"Oh come on!" Ron complained.

"What is it?" King asked, suspecting he already knew the answer.

"I don't speak Russian but I'll bet you all the Diablo Sauce in China that Comrade Computer Voice just told us the lair is going to blow up," Ron replied, for once in his life wishing events were not trying to prove him right.

V.

"Sam Hill on a skateboard," Cochrane said when the craft finally broke through the surface. The submersible was immense, at least as large as the _Enterprise_, its top convex. As the man-made leviathan rose, the seas rolled off its gray hull, reminding the captain of a breaching whale. Whales, however, were benign creatures. This massive thing, built by Soviet cold warriors whose intentions remained unknown, struck him as being anything but.

VI.

Katerina dropped the helmet into the cockpit, climbed down the ladder, and hurried over to an instrument panel that was mounted against the wall; there, she began to type a series of numeric commands. When she was done, she reached over to a key, which she turned, then withdrew, and then carefully placed in the breast pocket of her flight suit.

VII.

The command center was a cacophonous symphony. Klaxons blared, an automated voice was most likely announcing imminent destruction, and Ron and Stark were yelling at one another.

"Look, I don't have time for this," Ron snapped. "KP's in trouble. Now get out of the way."

"Or what?" Stark sneered.

"You want me to go monkey on you?"

"You can't be serious."

"As serious as a Steve Barkin pop quiz the day after I've spent eight hours playing Zombie Mayhem."

King decided it was time to intercede. Having developed a better understanding of what the two teens meant to each other, he didn't doubt that Ron would indeed go monkey on Stark, complicating the mission, and creating a host of other problems for all involved. "Sir," he said to Stark, "why don't we let Stoppable find Possible while we work on addressing the situation here."

"You're taking his side?"

"Uh, no," King lied. "Just trying, to, uh, get him out of our hair so we can focus on disarming this thing."

"Well, if you put it that way," Stark mused. "Okay, Stoppable, you find Possible while we work on addressing …"

Ron didn't hear the rest of the SLUG's order; he'd already bolted from the control center in search of his girlfriend.

VIII.

"Going somewhere?"

Katerina, who had been climbing the ladder to her jet, turned to see her furious young relative approaching her. She couldn't help but smile. Escaping from the cryogenic tube spoke volumes about her resourcefulness. "Kimcha," she said approvingly, "I am most impressed."

"You should know the family motto: anything is possible for a Possible," Kim retorted hotly.

Katerina considered her cousin. Other than a somewhat messy head of hair and a few minor cuts, the teen appeared well. She was clearly a redoubtable young woman if she was able to so easily escape her cryogenic prison. She made a decision. "Come with me."

Kim was non-plussed. "What?"

"You say anything is possible? Then do the unthinkable. Join me!"

"Hello! I fight villains," Kim said.

"As do I," Katerina retorted without irony.

"Excuse me? You work for the Soviet Union!"

"And you, apparently, are an agent of American imperialism," Katerina countered. "So who is the hero and who is the villain, Kimcha? Do not argue; it does not matter. You and I have the same goal: to protect the people, to bring order to the world. Together, we can do that."

"So not happening," Kim said as she executed what would have appeared to cheerleading aficionados to be a double handspring – but actually was a momentum-building flying assault that allowed her to drive her feet into her cousin's side, knocking the older woman off the ladder and sprawling onto the deck, with Kim upon her.

"You will regret this," Katerina growled as she gained purchase and used her feet to push Kim off of her. The two women scrambled to their feet and warily eyed one another.

"Not as much as you will when Global Justice takes you away," Kim shot back as she considered her next move, only to have it decided by Katerina who spun and sent a kick flying her way, one that Kim barely evaded.

"Nobody is going to take me away," Katerina declared as she followed up her kick with two sharp chops, which Kim deflected. "You are going to let me go."

"As if," the teen snapped as she grabbed Katerina's forearm and prepared to throw her.

"You will if you do not want your precious Ronya to die."

"What? If you hurt him …"

"The Luna will self-destruct in less than ten minutes," she said coolly, "and I have locked out the escape pods."

"And to think I thought deep freezing me and sending me to the moon was your way of saying you cared."

Katerina waved her hand dismissively. "I assumed the others would save you; when I realized you had escaped, I needed to take measures to ensure my departure."

"And blowing us all up helps you do that how?"

"By presenting you with two options," Katerina said with equanimity. "You can either continue to try to stop me or you can go save that foolish boy and yourself. Let me go, and I will give you the ability to unlock the pods. Otherwise …"

"How do I know you're not lying?" Kim demanded.

Katerina grinned. "We are family, no?"

"And I don't find that reassuring why?"

The klaxon continued to blare as a tinny Russian voice issued another warning. Katerina arched an eyebrow.

Kim reluctantly stepped aside. "This so isn't over, Katerina."

"If you say so," the older woman replied as if indulging a willful younger sibling as she climbed into the cockpit of her aircraft. She strapped herself in, then reached into her flight suit, took out the key, and looked down to her cousin, before she threw the key over her head in the direction of the control panel. "Insert the key into the console against the wall; it will unlock the pods. Good luck and _dos b'danya_, Kimcha."

Kim turned, then bolted for the key while Katerina lowered, then secured the canopy.

Katerina entered a series of commands into a radio control unit in her cockpit. In response a blast shield rose from the deck. She did a final check of her instruments and then ignited the jet's engines.

Kim was unlocking the controls to the escape pods when two giant doors slid open and the hangar was filled with a rush of fresh ocean air. As the roar of the MiG's engines filled the bay, she was seized by an almost primal desire to find a way to prevent her cousin from escaping. Kim had begun considering her options when the now all-too-familiar mechanical voice issued yet another warning, reminding her that time was quickly running out. Resigned to dealing with her rogue relative another day, she hurried from the hangar in search of Ron and the others as Katerina flew off into the pink twilit sky.

_

* * *

To Be Continued …_


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks to Boris Yeltsin, Mr. Wizard, Comet Moon, whitem, Shockwave88, CajunBear73, JCS1966, bigherb81, Quathis, daywalkr82, campy, Eddy13, Katsumara, spectre666, Shrike176, Joe Stoppinghem, screaming phoenix, Molloy, Nutzkie, RonHeartbreaker, and noncynic for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Leave a review and I'll send a reply.

Thanks to campy for proofreading this chapter.

KP © Disney; original characters © the author

* * *

I.

The _Enterprise_'s command center was on full alert as the crew monitored the giant craft that had emerged from beneath the Pacific.

"Status?" Cochrane asked the young officer intently studying a large display relaying data from the fleet, satellites, and surveillance aircraft.

"Sir, the object is continuing its ascent and it's accelera—whoa! Something's just emerged at high speed!"

"What is it?" the captain asked.

"I'm not sure, but—"

A boom ripped through the center.

"It's traveling at supersonic speed," Cochrane offered. "Any communication?"

"Negative, sir."

"How about from the submersible? Any word from our people?"

"None, sir."

Cochrane's jaw set. He didn't like the way this situation was unfolding. Turning to his Executive Officer, he said. "Tell Mitchell to scramble his squadron."

"Sir?"

"Since Ivan built that thing back during the Cold War we have to proceed as if anything launched is hostile. We also have to assume that it's connected to whatever is going on – including the fact that we can't raise Stark or Possible. I want that aircraft or whatever it is brought back or brought down."

"Aye, sir."

Cochrane then looked to his communications officer. "Rodriguez, get me the _Colorado_."

II.

"Ron!"

"KP!"

The two teens ran to each other and embraced, though not for long.

"We have to go, now," Kim said with calm urgency. "It's—"

"Going to blow up."

"And you know that how?"

"Ron Stoppable may not have been a Middleton High mathlete, but even he knows flashing lights and a scary mechanical voice repeating itself usually add up to 'this lair will self destruct'."

"Glad you've been paying attention," she said with a fond smirk. "Where are King and Stark?"

"Trying to get this thing to not self-destruct."

"No time. We have less than five minutes."

"That tanks."

"Tell me about it. I so don't like it when the villain gets away."

"Katerina escaped? How?"

"Long story, I'll tell it later. Right now, we have to get King and Stark and get to the escape pods."

"You found some escape pods? Coolio!"

Kim squirmed. "Something like that. Now, let's do this."

III.

King was cursing the presumably long-dead East German writers of the Luna's operator's manual. The reference volume was ponderous, opaque, and maddeningly ill-organized.

"Status report?" Stark demanded after King muttered another expletive.

King shook his head. "No luck, sir. These guys may have been brilliant engineers, but they couldn't write instructions to save their lives. Or," he sighed, "ours."

Stark grimaced. "There must be some way …"

"If I had unlimited time, sure," an exasperated King said. "But we don't."

"We don't know that," Stark countered.

"Yes, we do," Kim said as she and Ron entered the Command Center.

"Where's Comrade Cousin?" Stark asked.

"Flown the coop," Kim said, not bothering to hide her pique. Then she added, "And we need to do the same."

IV.

The captain of the _Colorado_ took off his headset, which he lay down on the console. Then he looked at his weapons officer. "We just got the order to splash that thing."

"Tomahawks, sir? Two should do it."

Collingwood considered the suggestion then gave the order. "Make it happen, Pete."

"Aye, sir." The man acknowledged as he picked up his mike. "Torpedo room, this is Rickover …"

V.

"Okay, we're here," Kim announced. "The pods are unlocked. Once we get in, we should be good to go."

"This is a little too convenient," Stark said accusingly.

"Excuse me?" a surprised Kim responded.

"You and Vozmozhniya seem pretty tight. She tells you where the escape pods are, you let her get away. I'm beginning to think you're in on this whole plot, Possible."

"You so can't be serious," an offended Kim replied.

"Sir, no disrespect," King interjected, "But…"

"But what?" the SLUG snapped.

King took a deep breath. "You're thinking too much."

"_Detonatsia logovo proizoidet v'schestyidesyat sekindach. Povtoreniye: detonatsia logovo proizoidet v'schestyidesyat sekindach … pyatydesyat devyatyih sekindach … pyatydesyat vocemyih sekindach … pyatydesyat cemyih sekindach …_"

"Uh oh. Mister Comrade Computer Voice just repeated himself and now he won't shut up. That's probably not a good sign, is it, KP?"

"Probably not," Kim answered Ron, thankful for the moment of off-beat normalcy. "We'd better ace this place."

Stark did not look pleased but found himself in agreement. "Possible, you're with me."

"Excuse me?" Kim said.

"I'm keeping an eye on you, just in case you have any more tricks up your sleeve."

"Sir," King said.

"What?"

"Just get in," he said as he pushed his fellow SLUG into the escape pod. As he climbed in after Stark, he grinned at Kim and Ron. "Good luck."

"You, too," Kim replied gratefully.

"Thanks, dude," Ron added.

"You're welcome," he said as he closed the hatch.

"That was nice of him," Ron said.

"So nice," Kim agreed, not unaware of how much more pleasant being cooped up with her BF was going to be than being stuck in cramped quarters with a slightly unhinged Navy commando. "Now let's jet."

VI.

The arrival of her cousin and the others aboard the _Luna _had told Katerina there had to be some American presence in the vicinity. So, as soon as practicable after leaving Luna's hangar bay, she had executed a one-revolution barrel roll, affording herself the opportunity to perform a quick visual reconnaissance of whatever assets they might have in place in the vicinity.

The discovery of the aircraft carrier was not welcome. Katerina had seen how quickly aviation technology had developed from the 1920s, when she was a girl, until 1959, when she had embarked on her current plan. She couldn't imagine what advances had taken place in the intervening half century. She was confident, though, that superior flying skills and the ability to take and hold the initiative would still be immensely valuable.

The modifications to her MiG-21 would be helpful, too. As soon as she had flown out of the Luna's hangar bay, she activated her plane's combat countermeasures – which she knew would be primitive by modern standards but hoped would be robust enough to at least distract, if not disable, the American's weapons. As she streaked across the Pacific sky, her plane deployed thousands of small pieces of reflective metal, which, in the afternoon sun, provided a dazzling sun-lit floating screen designed to confuse anti-aircraft weapons by offering a myriad of potential targets. As the U.S. Navy fired upon, but missed, her plane, she grinned with satisfaction. She didn't become complacent, though, having little doubt the Americans would send aircraft in pursuit. She quickly went to supersonic speed, feeling it would be prudent to put as much distance between herself and the enemy as possible.

Her evaluation of the situation was quickly affirmed, as her radar picked up four targets, all moving at high speed on an intercept course with her MiG. It soon became evident, however, that she could outpace the Americans. She smiled in triumph: she could not only fly faster than her pursuers, but unless their aircraft were powered by miniature nuclear reactors as hers was, she could outdistance them, too. Katerina's escape was guaranteed, though that didn't surprise her.

After all, anything was possible for a Vozmozhniya …

VII.

Kim scanned the interior and quickly spied a large red button. Confident that was what she was seeking, she turned to her boyfriend. "Make yourself comfortable, Ron, we're taking off."

He looked around. "Comfortable? There aren't any seats! You'd think they could have included some seats. And maybe some amenities," Ron said. "Like a cup holder. Or maybe—"

"Quiet, please and thank you," Kim said as she pressed the button. The pod disengaged from the lair with a lurch, sending the two teens sprawling.

Ron hit the deck and Kim landed atop him. "I can work with this," he said with a goofy grin.

"Me too," she agreed as she brushed her lips against his. "But we need to get our heads in the game."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked. "We've blown Katerina's hood—" His observation was interrupted by the boom of an explosion which was followed by the momentary flooding of the pod with a fiery bright light.

"I think you mean 'blown up' her hood," she said archly.

"Bottom-line, KP: we're Chauncey," he said as he cupped her cheeks in his hands and pulled her in for a kiss.

"Nuh uh," she said as she reluctantly freed herself from his grip. "Lip smacking later, learn where the escape pod is going and if it has a radio now."

"Aw man," he whined. "What's the use of being trapped in an escape pod with my bon-diggity GF if we can't enjoy any quality time together?"

"And we can't do that why?" she said.

"But you just said …"

"That we have to figure out how this thing works. As soon as we do that, we can most def enjoy some quality time."

"Okay, I'm down with that."

"Good," she said as she began to rise to her feet. Before she had stood up, though, an ominous clang reverberated throughout the pod, which then shuddered violently. They were both thrown, hard – Kim into the instrument panel and Ron into a steel bulkhead – and knocked unconscious as the small capsule plummeted to the ocean below.

_To Be Continued …_


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks to Quathis, whitem, Boris Yeltsin, CajunBear73, JCS1966, Mr. Wizard, Katsumara, daywalkr82, Shockwave88, Eddy13, Comet Moon, screaming phoenix, sharper1988, campy, noncynic, Shrike176, Joe Stoppinghem, bigherb81, Molloy, Foxman2, RonHeartbreaker, and kpfan72491 for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Many thanks to campy for proofreading this chapter. Some of Nana's blinis are in the mail.

Leave a review and I'll send a reply.

KP © Disney; Original characters © the author

* * *

I.

Everybody on the bridge of the _Enterprise_ instinctively flinched when the explosion rocked the ship's command center, momentarily filling the space with a harsh, brilliant white light.

"What just happened?" Cochrane demanded.

"I don't know, sir. The _Colorado_ hasn't loosed its Tomahawks yet. The submersible just … blew up."

"Get me Cunningham," the captain, his voice devoid of emotion, ordered his communications officer. Any relief Cochrane may have felt at not having to be the one who executed a death sentence against the SLUGs and Team Possible was more than negated by the realization that their lives had just been lost in spectacular fashion.

"Aye, sir," the young officer replied.

"Sir!"

Cochrane turned to his radar officer. "What?"

"I'm showing two unidentified objects at an altitude of 105 miles heading in a downward trajectory. One appears to be on target to impact approximately two and a quarter to four nautical miles from our current position, the other between seventy and one hundred and thirty."

"Escape pods?" the XO asked hopefully.

"Let's hope so," Cochrane answered before he turned back to his communications officer. "Put me through to the _Colorado_." Then he turned to his flight operations officer. "Get two search and rescue teams out there, now."

II.

Kim sat up slowly, rubbing her head. She looked at Ron's sprawled form and went over to him. "Ron, are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Coach Barkin?" he croaked as he opened his eyes. "Whoa! When did you become a babelicious babe?"

Kim smirked. "Ron, it's me, Kim."

The tow-headed teen focused on the auburn-haired young woman kneeling by his side.

"Sick and wrong!" he proclaimed.

"Excuse me?" she asked sharply.

"No, no, not you! You're not sick and wrong," Ron protested. "The idea that I'd confuse you with Mister B is sick and wrong. It's wrong-sick!"

"Agreed," she asked. "Though maybe I could give you a pop quiz. Or maybe detention. You did look at me funny back in the ninth grade," she said, unable to stifle a grin.

"Kid all you want, KP," Ron said gravely. "But there are some things one should never joke about."

"Oh really?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Really," Ron replied solemnly. "Bueno Nacho running out of Diablo Sauce," he said as he began counting on his fingers. "An alternative universe without Bueno Nacho. No more Naco Night – oh wait, that happened …"

"I'm detecting a pattern here," Kim said with a roll of the eyes.

"… And you turning into Mister B … or is it the other way around?"

Kim snorted. "You are so weird," she said affectionately. Strangely reassured by Ron's rambling, she kissed him on the cheek, then rose to her feet and headed to the capsule's one small porthole.

"Coolio! A window!" he said before his voice grew more tentative. "Unless all we can see is the bottom of the ocean and some giant mutant sea creature that's about to eat us … oh man, we're too young to die!"

"Amp it down, Captain Drama," Kim said. "We're afloat."

"Whew," Ron said with evident relief. "So now what?"

Kim, pursing her lips, turned and scanned the instrument panel. Her gaze fell on what appeared to be an old-style radio unit. "We try calling 411," she said as she began to fiddle with the controls.

III.

"Sir, we have an incoming transmission," the communications officer announced.

"From?" the captain asked.

"I'm not sure, though it's definitely not Navy. It appears to be …"

"What?" Cochrane inquired when he saw the confusion on the woman's face.

"Soviet," she said with amazement.

"That would seem to confirm we're looking at escape pods," the XO said.

"Which leaves the question of who made it off that thing," the captain observed. "Garcia, put it through."

IV.

"Good job on the radio, King," Stark said as he ended the transmission, pleased that he'd been the first one to check in with the _Enterprise_.

"Nothing to it, sir. Now we just have to wait for the cavalry to arrive," he said as he peered out of the porthole. "I wonder where Kim and Ron landed?"

"I don't know," Stark said curtly. "But when I'm done giving the captain my report, Possible's going to wish she was lost at sea."

V.

Kim glared at the inoperative radio equipment. "I so wish the Tweebs were here," she groused.

"Can I quote you on that?" Ron asked.

"Not if you know what's good for you," she said with mock severity.

"Ron Stoppable's lips are sealed then," he said. "After all, Momma didn't raise no fools, yup yup."

"No, she didn't," Kim said as she wrapped her arms around Ron's neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "Mmm, this feels nice."

"Yeah, it does," Ron agreed. "So, uh, what do we do now?"

"Hope that the _Enterprise_ was monitoring the explosion and has someone out looking for us."

"You mean we have to wait? That tanks."

Kim grinned. "Usually I'd agree. But I can think of worse things than being alone with my BF in an escape pod."

"Really? Because it's kind of cramped in—"

Kim brought her lips to Ron's, cutting off his comment.

"Ooooh," he said when she broke the kiss. "Okay, the Ronman can work with this!"

"I thought you could," she said as she made to sit down. Ron quickly joined her. The two teens made themselves comfortable, wrapped their arms around one another – and, exhausted from the events of the past few days and free of any worries or pressures involving alien invasions, high school graduations, or missions, promptly fell fast asleep.

VI.

"Sir," the helicopter's co-pilot reported. "Two o'clock."

The pilot turned the craft to starboard and headed towards the capsule, which was bobbing on the waves.

"_Enterprise_, this is SAR Flight One, we have visual contact with an escape pod."

"Roger that, SAR Flight One," the flight operations officer responded. "Proceed to retrieve the capsule."

"Aye, sir," the pilot said. "SAR Flight One out," he said.

The co-pilot turned and looked over his shoulder. "You ready?" he said to the extraction specialist. The man replied by giving him a thumb's up.

The helicopter descended on a gentle path. Once the Sea Hawk was hovering over the capsule, the extraction specialist began to deploy a grappling hook.

VII.

Kim woke with a start when something clanged against the steel surface of the capsule.

"Ron, wake up," she said, eliciting a huge grin from her boyfriend.

"Loving the Ferret Girl bathing suit, KP," he mumbled, his eyes still closed.

"Excuse me?" she said, surprised, tweaked, and admittedly flattered, as she gently shook him. "Ron, wake up. Now."

"Wha …?" he said as his eyes fluttered open to see his girlfriend wearing an especially bemused expression. "Oh man," he whined as that last image of Kim came to mind. "Please don't tell me I was talking in my sleep …"

Kim offered a wry smile. "Sorry, but you know how I feel about telling the truth," she said as she helped him sit up. "So, a Ferret Girl bathing suit. Do I even want to know?"

Ron turned red and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, let's just say it looked really good on you."

The teen hero snorted. "You are too much," she said warmly. Then the sound of something banging against the exterior once again reverberated through the capsule.

"You don't think we're being boarded by pirates, do you?" Ron asked.

"Pirates?" Kim said, not bothering to hide her skepticism.

"Hey, it's possible you know."

"Riiiight," Kim said as she rolled her eyes. "I think we're being rescued."

"Booyahl!" Ron enthused before his eyes opened wide, his face fell, and his shoulders slumped.

"Ron?"

"Booyah denied," he said morosely.

"And that would be why?" she asked.

"Uh, KP, hero, sidekick—"

"You're not a sidekick, you're a partner," she corrected him

"That's not the point," Ron protested.

"Oh, and the point is?" she asked.

"You, me, alone in an escape pod after saving the world and _I fell asleep_?" he wailed. "_What are the odds_?"

_To Be Continued …_


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks to Comet Moon, Boris Yeltsin, Mr. Wizard, sharper1988, JCS1966, CajunBear73, Shockwave88, Eddy13, Quathis, Shrike176, screaming phoenix, LoPe21, RonHeartbreaker, Katsumara, whitem, Molloy, and King of Anime for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Leave a review and I'll send a response.

Thanks to campy for proofreading this chapter.

KP © Disney; original characters © the author.

* * *

I.

Like millions of other Americans, the Stoppables and Possibles were watching the continuing television coverage of the Lorwardian attack and its aftermath.

"This just in," Summer Gayle announced breathlessly. "According to the Pentagon, an unknown object, which does not appear to have been extraterrestrial in origin, exploded over the Pacific Ocean sometime during the last twenty-four hours. Military assets are now conducting an investigation. As soon as we know more, we'll let you know. This is Summer Gayle and this is Alien Invasion Fallout Watch!"

"Well, Summer's career seems to have recovered quite nicely since that incident with Snowy," Ann remarked archly.

"Ah, Snowy," James reminisced fondly. "He was such a happy, jolly soul. Too bad he turned into a giant mutant creature bent on wanton mass destruction."

"I wonder if Kimberly Ann and Ronald are involved in the investigation," Nana wondered aloud as she considered the news they'd just heard.

"Hmmm. Let's see," Mr. Stoppable said as he whipped out his calculator. "Given that the kids are on an aircraft carrier, and …"

II.

Ron had thought some of the encounters he and Kim had had with Will Du had been tense, but they were nothing compared with the debriefing taking place with Cochrane and the _Enterprise_'s executive officer. The meeting began shortly after the two teens had been hustled from the escape pod to the captain's ready room, where Stark and King were already present and seated at the table. While the session began cordially enough, things deteriorated quickly with Ron now unable to recall another time when he'd seen his girlfriend so angry. Of course, he couldn't blame her, given that Stark had all but claimed Kim had colluded with Katerina and was therefore essentially guilty of treason.

"That is so not true!" Kim snapped after listening to the SLUG's latest assertion.

"Then why did you let her get away?" Stark asked with a calm that would have done proud a bureaucratic infighter with many more years experience.

"What part of 'the lair was about to blow up so it was no longer a threat and wanting to get everybody off safely' don't you understand?"

"And in doing so you conveniently allowed the enemy to escape."

"You know," Ron interjected, "While Katerina may have had some anger management issues and even less of a grasp on current events than me, I don't know if I'd actually call her an enemy."

"Not helping," Kim grumbled.

"Sorry, KP," Ron apologized.

"I think I've heard enough," Cochrane said. "Ms. Possible, Mr. Stoppable, you're dismissed. Lieutenants Stark and King, please remain."

III.

"Look, Kim, about what just happened," Ron said uneasily as he tried to keep up with his girlfriend, who was stalking down the corridor at a furious pace.

The auburn-haired teen stopped, turned, faced her boyfriend, and took a deep breath. "It's no big, Ron."

"You sure?"

Kim closed her eyes and nodded. Then her brow furrowed. "Okay, so maybe it's a bit of a big."

Ron sighed. "Maybe someday I'll just learn to keep my mouth shut."

Kim rested her hands on his shoulders. "You will do no such thing, Ron Stoppable," she said sternly before she continued impishly, "Well, most of the time." Seeing he had not been set wholly at ease she added, "I really don't think Captain Cochrane thinks Katerina and I are secret co-conspirators just because of something you said."

"You sure?"

"So sure."

"Well, if it wasn't what I said back there, what's with your tweakage?"

"Stark," Kim said flatly.

"Him? He's just another D Hall bully," Ron said before he rubbed his chin as if he were deep in thought. "Or maybe he's just channeling Bonnie."

Kim snorted. "That is so many flavors of wrong." Then, frustrated, she asked, "Why do I even let people like Bonnie or Stark get under my skin? They're so not worth the aggravation."

"Maybe not, KP, but even if you are Kim Possible, you're still human."

Kim smiled. "And that's yet another reason I keep you around, Ron Stoppable."

"So," he said, extending his arm, "can I take my bon-diggity girlfriend for a nautical naco at the on-board Bueno Nacho?"

"Sounds like a plan," she said as she slipped her arm through his. "To be honest, I'm almost as hungry as I am tired."

IV.

The _Enterprise_ may have been a floating city with non-stop, around-the-clock activity, but the ship's operating tempo nonetheless slowed markedly in the hours after midnight. Evidence of this was the all but empty mess, which afforded the two teens a measure of welcome privacy. They found a table in a corner where Kim ate a salad and Ron made short shrift of a defenseless chimerito platter.

"So, I never got to tell you why I was scared," she said plainly when she was done with her meal. Ron immediately set down his unfinished Tex-Mex.

"You have the Ronman's undivided attention, KP."

"You're sure you'll be able to avoid the call of the chimerito?" she asked wryly.

"It'll be tough, but I'll try to manage," he said theatrically before casting a covetous glance at his unfinished food. "Yeah, I can do this."

Kim snorted, then took Ron's hands in hers. "Remember how you freaked at Bueno Nacho about graduation being the end of everything?"

"Well, I don't know if I'd say I freaked …"

"You so freaked. You stopped using punctuation and …" the smirk that had been on Kim's face faded and turned into something far more vulnerable. "And I know all about freaking because when I got home that afternoon I began to freak too."

"You? No way."

"Way. Like you, I suddenly found myself wondering if everything was going to be okay. When I talked with Mom, she said it would be."

"Your mom's a smart lady."

"True, but that didn't stop me from being scared. Then you started talking about what might happen after graduation and I knew we had to talk," she said as she gazed down at his right hand, which she began to gently stroke. After a few moments, she looked up, biting her lip and, much to Ron's surprise, her eyes were watering.

"KP, you okay?"

"The moment Warmonga's ray pulled me loose from your grip was the worst moment of my life," she said, looking vulnerable in a way that Ron had seen only twice before in his life: when they were tied up in the Bueno Nacho HQ store room and on the stage at high school graduation as she was drawn up into the hold of the Lorwardian ship. "I was helpless and I didn't know if I'd ever see you again."

"Nothing will ever keep me away from you, Kim," Ron said with determination. "You know that."

"I know that now," she said. "But I didn't know that then."

He looked surprised. "You didn't think Ron Stoppable was going to let some super-sized bullies from outer space kidnap his bon-diggity girlfriend, did you?"

Kim offered a wry smile. "Ron, I knew you'd want to come for me but I also watched two aliens conquer the entire planet in the time it takes to order a pizza."

"You've been timing pizza deliveries?" he asked, confused. After all, that was the kind of thing he would do – indeed, had once done, he thought ruefully, when he should have been working on an English paper for Steve Barkin.

Kim cocked an eyebrow, then chuckled. "No, Drakken pointed it out."

"I wonder why he's been timing pizza deliveries," Ron wondered, rubbing his chin.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Ron, he was just making a point about how quickly Warhok and Warmonga had taken over Earth. He was pretty tweaked about it."

"Yeah, well considering Drakken's, what – oh-for-fifty? – in trying to take over the world, and Warhok and Warmonga pulled it off on their first try, I can see how he might have been bummed."

"And yet somehow I can't bring myself to feel too bad for him," Kim said with a chuckle. "But enough about Drakken," she continued. "Ron, we've got a problem."

He gulped. "You don't think they're going to make us pay for blowing up the lair? I mean, you were trying to save us and—"

Kim stayed her boyfriend's ramblings by placing her finger on his lips. "No," she said. "I don't think they're going to make us pay for Katerina's lair. And the problem we have, the thing that scared me, is how do we handle our 'us' sitch. Back in Middleton, you said you couldn't live without me, and I feel the same way about you."

"Really?" Ron responded, a look of wonder on his face that elicited a satisfied smile from Kim, who simply nodded. "You know, KP, normally I'm all about avoiding problems, but this time Ron Stepupable is on deck and ready for action."

"Spankin'," she said as she squeezed his hands.

"Man, that never stops feeling good," he said. "So, what's the plan?"

"I don't know," Kim admitted with a shrug. "Though, as ferociously annoying as that is, it may be a good thing."

"How so?"

"You're still waiting to hear from schools."

"Yeah, but the Rondo can read the writing on the wall," he said with resignation.

"There's still time," she said optimistically.

"I guess so …"

"And even if you don't get into college, you'll still be my guy."

"You say that now. But what about when you meet some college guy with Wade-level brainage and great hair?"

"I like your hair. And, please don't take this the wrong way, but it's not like I didn't know you weren't going to be a future president of the Super Genius Cerebellum Thinking Society when we began dating."

"Who says?" he protested. "I could always get Ron Rieger to rig the results."

Kim snorted. "No comment," she said, before she placed one of her hands on his chest. "I fell for what's in here, Ron Stoppable: for the weird, cute guy who never stops surprising me, who may complain but finds new ways to step up his game, who keeps me grounded, and always makes me happy."

"Even when I take you to lunch at the Smarty Mart cafeteria on Double Twist Tuesdays?"

"Okay, almost always makes me happy," she deadpanned. "And just to be safe, if you really want to keep me happy, don't even think of looking at the claw machine at the mall."

"Gotcha," Ron said. "So you'd really be cool with us dating if I was stuck working at Smarty Mart?"

"No," she answered, confusing him. "Though I'd be cool with us dating if you made the most of working at Smarty Mart."

"Could you explain that for Rufus?"

"Rufus? He isn't here."

"But if he were, he'd need an explanation."

Kim cocked an eyebrow. "You know there's a reason I've always called you Potential Boy: you can do so much better than coasting. I've seen how creative and even driven you can be when you want something."

"Like when?"

"When you joined the football team because you were afraid of losing me."

"So you're saying I should cheat my way into a better job?"

Kim scowled.

"Just playing you," Ron said, earning himself a swat. "You're talking about my pig puck exploits after I became Middleton's star running back." Kim was about to correct Ron about his gridiron slang when he said, "I guess I could talk to Mister Smarty."

"See, that's the spirit," she said.

"Okay, I'll do it," Ron said. Then he gulped. "On one condition."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you have to promise to go to the college you want to attend, even though it, uh, probably means leaving Middleton."

"Excuse me?"

"You deserve the best, KP," he continued. "It'd be badical to have you at Upperton or MIST, but you know you don't want to go to those places, and you're way too smart for Middleton Community."

"What are you saying?"

"KP, having to say goodnight on the phone and wait for long weekends or holidays to see you will tank, but you can go to any school in the world. I don't want us to be the reason you don't."

"Ron …"

"Promise, KP," he said. "Please. Promise you'll go to the school you want to go to, not because it's near me, but because it's the one that excites you as much as the idea of a four-hour free shopping spree at Country Club Banana."

"You're serious," Kim said softly.

Ron nodded in reply.

Kim rose from her seat, came around the table, dropped into the chair next to Ron, and threw her arms around him. "I love you so much."

"Back atcha," Ron said with a catch in his throat.

"Okay," Kim said. "I'll go to the school I want to go to. But I have my own condition: you have to help me pick it out."

"How come?"

"I want it to be a place where you'd want to go to school if you could get in, or at least have it be near a Smarty Mart."

"Kim, I could never get into a school that would want you."

"Maybe not now," she said. "But last week you couldn't control your monkey powers and last year you couldn't have made the football team."

"So basically we're talking about 'Ron Stepupable Goes to College'."

"Pretty much," Kim said. "I heard it's a pretty good movie."

"Does it have any zombies?"

"Sorry. No explosions either. But I did hear that Ron Stepupable gets to date a pretty co-ed."

"I'm all about Ron Stepupable dating the pretty co-ed."

"I thought you would be," Kim said as she brought her lips to his.

"Er, ahem."

The two teens sighed, half expecting to see Wade, who had interrupted them on too many occasions with his uncanny knack for catching them pre-kiss. Instead they saw a visibly chagrined Halsey.

"Sorry to disturb you," the young officer said.

"No big," Kim said graciously, impressed by how crisp Halsey looked even though it was a little after 2:00 AM. "What's the sitch?"

"The captain would like to meet with you tomorrow morning at 0800 hours."

V.

"They can't make us walk the plank, can they?" a nervous Ron asked Kim as they followed Halsey down the corridor.

"Melodramatic much?" Kim quipped as she squeezed her boyfriend's hand, though, if she had to admit, she did so both to offer and draw reassurance. She, too, wondered about the current situation.

Kim and Ron had found the casual clothes they'd worn to their graduation beach party freshly laundered and waiting for them in their quarters when they had returned from their late night meal, so that was what they put on for their meeting with Cochrane. When Halsey arrived to escort them to their meeting, the two teens suddenly felt extremely underdressed – Halsey had appeared wearing her dress whites. When Kim asked if they should find something else to put on, the young officer reassured them they had no need to be concerned about their dress. Beyond that, however, while polite, she said little, which somehow left Kim feeling very uneasy. While she felt she had nothing to apologize for regarding the mission, she suddenly found herself deeply concerned about just how much Stark had twisted the facts in his report to the captain.

Halsey led Kim and Ron through a door, then up a gangway. She reached another door, turned the handle, and gestured with her hand for her charges to proceed ahead of her. Kim immediately noticed blue sky and was curious as to why she and Ron were being taken out on deck. When she passed through the door, she was stunned.

"This is so the drama," she observed.

"What do you mean – whoa!" Ron said as he joined Kim.

Lining the edge of the giant flight deck were hundreds of sailors, all wearing crisp uniforms and standing at attention. The tableau was breathtaking – the snow-white line of seamen and -women framed against a brilliant, cloudless blue sky. At the end of the great flight deck were the officers, also wearing their dress uniforms, clearly waiting for Kim and Ron.

"What's going on?" a confused Kim asked their escort.

"You'll have to ask the captain," a grinning Halsey replied.

Kim and Ron, with Halsey behind them, headed to Cochrane. When they reached him, he surprised them by offering a salute.

Kim responded with a crisp salute of her own while Ron was able to avoid poking himself in the eye.

"Miss Possible, Mister Stoppable," the captain said.

"Sir?" Kim asked. "What's going on?"

"Something that should have happened a long time ago," he answered.

"Uh, just in case Kim … oh, who am I kidding," Ron interrupted. "Could you explain that for me?"

Cochrane grinned. "Turn around."

Kim and Ron did as requested so they were now facing the carrier's control tower, from which a giant banner was being unfurled. Their attention was drawn to its message: "Thank you, Team Possible."

"Does this mean we're not going to be court martialed?" Ron asked.

Kim rolled her eyes – but also reached out for her boyfriend's hand.

"Miss Possible, you've been saving the world for a long time, but I don't think anyone has ever properly thanked you. We on the _Enterprise_ wanted to correct that oversight."

"I, I don't know what to say," she said, clearly moved. "You didn't have to do this."

"Sir?" a familiar voice asked. "May I?"

Kim and Ron turned to face King.

"Proceed, Mister King."

"Kim, Ron, as commander of the _Enterprise_'s Sea, Land, and Underwater Group—"

"Dude! You were promoted – badical!"

"Ron," Kim chided, though she couldn't suppress a grin of her own.

Beaming, King continued. "We know you're not in the Service, but all of us in the unit are proud to call you fellow SLUGs."

It wasn't lost on either Kim or Ron that Stark wasn't with the SLUGs but was standing with the other officers.

"Lieutenant Halsey?" King said.

Kim and Ron then noticed that Halsey was wearing the same small SLUG emblem on her uniform as was King. "It's my honor to present you with these," she said as she came forward and pinned small SLUG insignia to their shirts.

"Thanks," Kim said, deeply moved by the compliment. "I don't know what to say."

"Must be sea salt in my eye," Ron sniffed as he dabbed at his suddenly moist eyes.

As Ron tried to regain control of his emotions and Kim sought to maintain her composure, a flight of jets streaked in from the east and flew over the carrier, trailing smoke the color of the Sloth.

"That is the one of the coolest things we've ever seen," Ron observed.

"And it isn't going to hurt us," she added playfully.

Ron shifted his gaze to his girlfriend. "To which I can only say, 'Ah-booyah!'"

"Miss Possible, Mister Stoppable," Cochrane then said. "On behalf of all of us on the _Enterprise_, and, if I may be so bold, everyone, everywhere, thank you, not only for this latest mission and for your part in defeating the aliens, but for everything you have done over the years. You are a remarkable team. Please don't ever forget that."

Kim once again took Ron's hand in hers. Smiling with confidence and contentment, she assured Cochrane, "I so don't think you need to worry about that happening, sir."

_To Be Continued …_


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks to Boris Yeltsin, whitem, captainkodak1, CajunBear73, Shockwave88, JCS1966, Mr. Wizard, LoPe21, Quathis, Charles Gray, daywalkr82, campy, Eddy13, Shrike176, Katsumara, the gray mage, screaming phoenix, King Of Anime, noncynic, Foxman2, Comet Moon, Joe Stoppinghem, and TearsAreFallingDownMyFace for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Special thanks to campy for proofreading this chapter.

Leave a review and, as ever, I'll send a response.

KP © Disney; Original Characters © the author

* * *

I.

Ivan sat behind the counter, listlessly reading the web page of the Moscow _Examiner_. Looking at the news site of the Russian Federation's largest newspaper only served to remind the bored clerk of where he was: stuck in a stagnant Siberian backwater, three thousand miles east of Moscow, which was where he wanted to live but could not, given his lack of funds to travel to, let alone, live there. He was about to return to his reading when the door opened and a striking woman with a luxurious mane of red hair and ice-blue eyes strode in. Ivan wanted to say something, anything, but was tongue-tied, so he instead watched as she surveyed the room imperiously. He gulped when she settled her gaze on him.

"May I help you?" he stammered.

"Yes, Comrade," she replied, surprising the young man. He'd only heard old, usually bitter, people use that old-fashioned term of address. "I am in need of assistance."

"Uh, sure," he said tentatively.

"Good. You will show me how to crawl the internet?" she asked, gesturing towards the terminals.

"Surf," he said, nervously correcting her.

The woman coldly appraised him, nodded, then, to his surprise, smiled. "Surf. Thank you, Comrade. You will show me how to surf the internet."

"Yeah," he said, uneasily.

"Very good. Let us start," she said as she took one of the seats. "What must I do?"

"Pay," he said apologetically, not wanting to offend the woman, though he was not sure whether it was because of her great beauty or the sense of authority she exuded. "Ten rubles an hour. You can insert your credit card there," he explained, pointing to a slot in a small box that was attached to the computer's hard drive.

"I do not have a credit card," she said.

"Then, uh, you can pay with cash," he said.

The woman nodded, reached into her jacket and withdrew a wad of bills whose thickness stunned Ivan. Without thinking, he blurted out, "Did you rob a bank?"

She cocked her eyebrow, then smirked. "And what if I did?" she asked nonchalantly. "Do they not rob the people?"

Ivan considered the stories he'd read about the billionaire oligarchs in Moscow and St. Petersburg and found himself agreeing with his customer.

Then, for a brief moment, he wondered if he could relieve the woman of her cash – there appeared to be more than enough to enable him to move to Moscow. But the hard look on her face told him that she both knew what he was contemplating and that it would be a very grave mistake for him to act on the idea. Gulping, he took the money she proffered and walked to the counter, where he activated her computer. Then he returned and sat next to her.

"So, what are you looking for?" Ivan asked.

"Information, Comrade," Katerina answered. "The successful completion of my work requires that I inform myself about current events."

II.

Kim led the way as she and Ron made their way to the secluded beach on the Hawaiian island of Kauai using Navy-issued jet packs provided by King. The two teens swiftly descended from the Sea King helicopter that had transported them from the _Enterprise_, which was itself en route to Pearl Harbor. As they skimmed the gentle waves, Kim found herself musing that the military gear they were using was more than adequate but not as responsive as those fashioned by Wade, while Ron fretted over losing his shorts the moment they landed. It was a little before dawn, and the indigo sky was clear and the air still, when the duo set down on the beach.

"Ah-booyah!" Ron declared with gusto as he successfully shed his jet pack without losing his shorts.

"Care to explain?" Kim asked with a bemused smile.

"Graduation rocks!" Ron explained. "Now that I've got my pigskin, my plummeting pants problem seems to be part of the past."

"Nice use of allitera—" Kim was observing as her boyfriend began to shake violently. "Ron?" she asked with concern.

Before he could answer, his shorts dropped and he rocketed into the night sky with a roar. "Bad blaster boxers!" he cried out. "KP!!!"

Kim lost no time in donning her jet pack. She blasted off and followed Ron, reaching him just as his boxers sputtered out and he began to fall towards the beach below.

"Care for a lift?" she asked puckishly as she slipped her arms under his.

"Thanks, Kim," Ron said gratefully.

"No big," she said lightly – although not wholly convincingly, as she experienced a powerful surge of relief that he had not been hurt, the intense emotion highlighting for her just how much deeper the already close bond they shared had grown over the past few days.

"Wrong. I can always count on you," he said with feeling that communicated he felt the same as his girlfriend about the state of their connection. Seriousness faded, though, as Ron looked down at his polka-dotted boxers and groused, "Unlike my shorts and pants. When will it end?"

Kim snorted and slipped off her pack while Ron retrieved his shorts. She then sat down on the beach, and patted a spot next to her. As he dropped down beside her, the sun broke the horizon and the inky night sky began to brighten. They sat quietly, holding hands, watching as the morning light bathed the ocean that stretched out before them. Kim was startled when Ron sat up and began looking around.

"What is it?" she asked, wondering if her boyfriend sensed something with his new monkey powers.

"Have we been here?" he responded.

"Excuse me?"

"This beach. Don't get me wrong, KP, it's badical, but I feel like we've been here before."

"I don't remember being here."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I chose this spot because I wanted us to go somewhere new to mark the start of the next part of our lives," she explained before she grew quiet, realizing that the place did look vaguely familiar. She got up and surveyed their surroundings. "Now that you mention it, I do feel like we had a mission here, some whack sitch involving Drakken and …"

"… And somebody trying to kidnap Rufus!" Ron offered as he jumped to his feet.

"And there was a little girl who insisted on helping," Kim said as her brow furrowed.

"And she had a really weird blue dog!" Ron exclaimed. "Talk about sick and wrong!"

"I so can't believe this," she said, shaking her head.

"Tell me about it. I mean, who ever heard of a blue dog?" The expression on Kim's face encouraged Ron that he might want to get his head in the proverbial game. "So what do you think happened?"

Kim considered the situation for a few moments. "It must have been a shared dream like the one we had sophomore year," she concluded.

"Kooky," Ron said.

"Understatement much?" Kim observed lightly. "I guess that's just part of being us."

"You're cool with that?" he asked.

Kim looked into Ron's eyes, smiled warmly, and then answered by bringing her lips to his …

_The End._


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